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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1441 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1494
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Cynthia Stone Creem
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to keep families connected.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Cynthia Stone CreemNorfolk and MiddlesexJoanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester1/31/2023Michael J. BarrettThird Middlesex1/31/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex2/7/2023Liz MirandaSecond Suffolk2/9/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/9/2023Patricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex2/27/2023Adam GomezHampden2/27/2023Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk3/1/2023Paul R. FeeneyBristol and Norfolk3/6/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/31/2023Mike Connolly26th Middlesex2/2/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex2/2/2023Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol2/7/2023 1 of 5
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1441 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1494
By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1494) of Cynthia Stone Creem,
Joanne M. Comerford, Michael J. Barrett, Rebecca L. Rausch and other members of the Senate
for legislation relative to inmate telephone calls. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1559 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act to keep families connected.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 87 the
2following section:-
3 Section 87A. (a) For the purposes of this section, the terms “state correctional facilities,”
4“state prisons” and “county correctional facilities” shall have the same meanings as those terms
5are defined in section 1 of chapter 125. For purposes of this section, “housing units” are defined
6as follows: any and all administrative segregation or restrictive housing units, Hospital Service
7Units, Mental Health Units and General Population housing units in the facility, and any new
8types of housing units the department of correction or sheriffs may establish in the future. 2 of 5
9 (b) The department of correction and sheriffs shall provide and shall ensure adequate
10infrastructure to provide voice communication services to persons committed to state
11correctional facilities, state prisons and county correctional facilities, including jails and houses
12of correction.
13 (c) The provision of such communication services shall be provided free of charge to the
14person initiating and the person receiving the communication.
15 (d) In all housing units, each incarcerated or detained person shall be able to access voice
16communication services at all times to the extent that such access does not interfere with
17rehabilitative, educational or vocational programming or routine facility procedures; and further,
18access to voice communication services shall not be less than existed during the month prior to
19enactment of this section.
20 (e) In all state correctional facilities, state prisons and county correctional facilities,
21including jails and houses of correction, that currently provide tablets that are capable of
22becoming calling-enabled, the department of correction and sheriffs shall enable voice
23communication services via these tablets, and shall ensure adequate infrastructure to provide
24voice communication services via these tablets. These voice communication services shall be
25provided free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the communication.
26When tablet calling is unavailable because Wifi is unavailable, the tablet is damaged or lost, or
27for any other reason, incarcerated persons shall have access to landline phones at all times in all
28housing units to the extent that such access does not interfere with rehabilitative, educational or
29vocational programming or routine facility procedures. 3 of 5
30 (f) The department of correction and sheriffs may supplement voice communication
31services with other communication services, including, but not limited to, video and electronic
32communication services provided, however, that other communication services shall not replace
33voice communication services; and provided further, that other communication services shall be
34provided free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the communication.
35 (g) Nothing in this section shall authorize or permit the department of correction or
36sheriffs to limit or prohibit in-person contact visits.
37 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than 90
38days of enactment of this bill, any provision of a contract for communication services to any
39person confined in a state correctional facility, state prison or county correctional facility that
40provides for the payment of revenue, financial incentives or commissions to a state or local law
41enforcement agency shall be void and the department of correction and sheriffs shall renegotiate
42any such contract to remove any such provision. A renegotiated contract shall reduce the cost of
43communication services to reflect the removal of any provision that provide for the payment of
44revenue, financial incentives or commissions to a state or local enforcement agency; provided,
45however, that no other terms of the contract shall be affected by this section; provided further,
46that the department of corrections and the sheriffs shall seek to maximize purchasing power and
47consolidate contracts to the extent feasible after such renegotiated contracts expire; provided
48further, that not later than 90 days after the enactment of this bill, the department of correction
49and the sheriffs shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint
50committee on the judiciary on the status of any communication services contracts and plans to
51consolidate contracts to maximize purchasing power for voice communication services. 4 of 5
52 SECTION 3. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section
532QQQQQ the following new section:-
54 Section 2RRRRR. There shall be a Communications Access Trust Fund to be
55administered by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of
56public safety and security. The fund shall consist of: (i) money transferred to the fund by the
57general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and
58private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned
59on such money. Amounts credited to the fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year
60shall not revert to the General Fund. (b) Amounts credited to the fund may be expended, without
61further appropriation, by the secretary of administration and finance for the purposes of making
62payments to the department of correction and the sheriffs for providing voice communication
63services, including phone calls, and other communication services free of charge to the person
64initiating and the person receiving the communication pursuant to section 87A of chapter 127.
65The secretary of administration and finance shall make said payments to the department of
66correction and the sheriffs on a quarterly basis; provided, that sufficient documentation shall be
67received by the secretary of administration and finance consistent with subsection (c); provided,
68however, that no payment from the fund shall be for any financial incentive received in
69connection with a communication services contract, including, but not limited to a commission.
70(d) The department of correction and the sheriffs shall submit quarterly to the secretary of
71administration and finance documentation of communication services provided free of charge in
72order to receive payments from the fund pursuant to subsection (b); provided, that documentation
73shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for each facility: (i) the number of
74voice calls; (ii) the total number of minutes for voice calls; (iii) the number of video calls; (iv) 5 of 5
75the total number of minutes for video calls; (v) the number of electronic mail messages sent and
76received; ; and provided further, that the secretary of administration and finance may require
77additional documentation as deemed necessary by the secretary. (d) Quarterly, the secretary of
78administration and finance, in consultation with the department of correction and the sheriffs,
79shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on
80the judiciary on matters related to telecommunication contracts entered into by the department of
81correction and the sheriffs, including, but not limited to: (i) records of all payments for
82telecommunications services for incarcerated persons; (ii) contracts for all telecommunication
83services, including the compensation structure; (iii) a rate sheet itemizing all charges to
84consumers for services or programs embedded in the telecommunications contract, including
85charges for tablet services and transfers to commissary accounts via tablet; (iv) revenue derived
86from products or services embedded in the telecommunications contract; (v) any policy
87governing access to voice, video or electronic mail communications, if such policy exists, and;
88(vi) any changes in contracts for voice communication services, including any progress in
89maximizing purchasing power and consolidating contracts between the sheriffs and the
90department of correction.
91 SECTION 4. The provisions of paragraphs (c), (e), and (f) of Section 1 of this act shall go
92into effect no later than ninety days after the enactment.