Skip to main content
S 2984Police & Prisons

State Affairs and Government - Corrections Department

This bill makes phone calls free for people in jail or prison and guarantees them in-person visits.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that voice communication services, such as telephone calls, be provided free of charge to individuals confined in Rhode Island correctional facilities, including state prisons, local jails, and youth detention centers. It requires facilities to maintain a minimum ratio of operable phones to inmates within housing units. Furthermore, the bill prohibits the state from generating revenue from inmate communication services and establishes a statutory requirement for facilities to provide in-person contact visits.

For younger readers

This bill helps people who are in jail or prison stay in touch with their families. It says that phone calls from jail must be free for the person in jail and the person they are calling. It also says the jails must have enough working phones so everyone can use them. Finally, it makes sure that people in jail are allowed to have family members come to visit them in person.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Incarcerated individualsFamilies of inmatesDepartment of Corrections staffTaxpayersYouth detention center administrators
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Eliminates the financial burden of communication costs for incarcerated individuals and their families, who are disproportionately low-income, ensuring that poverty does not prevent family connection.
  • Strengthens support networks by facilitating regular contact through free calls and guaranteed in-person visits, which is proven to reduce recidivism and aid in successful reentry into society.
  • Ends the predatory practice of the state generating revenue from inmate communications, shifting the focus of the correctional system away from profit extraction and toward rehabilitation.
  • Shifting the cost of communications entirely to the state may draw funding away from other critical social services or rehabilitation programs if the Department of Corrections budget is not increased accordingly.
  • The language regarding video and electronic messaging states facilities "may supplement" rather than mandating these technologies, potentially leaving inmates behind in an increasingly digital world.
  • The strict ratio requirements for phones might be difficult to implement immediately in older or overcrowded facilities, potentially leading to logistical disputes rather than immediate service improvements.
For Conservatives
  • Supports the preservation of the traditional nuclear family unit by ensuring that incarcerated parents can maintain contact with their spouses and children through in-person visits and calls.
  • Prevents the government from using hidden fees and commissions on phone calls as a "backdoor tax" on families, promoting greater transparency in government revenue.
  • Ensures that individuals awaiting trial have adequate access to communication, upholding the constitutional right to due process and the ability to coordinate a legal defense.
  • Transfers the financial cost of inmate communications directly to law-abiding taxpayers, removing the responsibility of the offender to pay for their own services.
  • Mandating in-person contact visits could compromise the safety and security of correctional facilities, increasing the risk of contraband smuggling and violence against guards.
  • Eliminates a stream of revenue that helps offset the high operational costs of the prison system, potentially necessitating tax increases to cover the shortfall.

Votes

Loading votes...

Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 27 additions · 13 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 42-56-38.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-56 entitled "Corrections Department" is hereby amended to read as follows: 42-56-38.1. Prisoner telephone use.

(a) When an inmate requests and receives a list of parties approved to receive telephone calls, the inmate shall be provided the option of using either a debit or collect call system to place such calls. Under the debit system, either the cost of such service shall be automatically deducted from the account maintained by the inmate for that purpose, or the inmate shall set aside money from his/her account to be placed in a prepaid telephone account.

(b) No telephone service provider shall charge a customer rate for calls made from a prison in excess of rates charged for comparable calls made in non-prison settings. All rates shall reflect the lowest reasonable cost to inmates and call recipients.

(c) No concessions agreements for inmate telephone calling services shall include provisions for a commission payable to the state, nor shall any correctional institution impose a surcharge for telephone usage by inmates in addition to the charges imposed by the telephone service provider.

SECTION 2. Chapter 42-56 of the General Laws entitled "Corrections Department" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 42-56-38.3. Prisoner telephone use -- Communication with people confined to correctional facilities.

(a) When an inmate requests and receives a list of parties approved to receive telephone calls, the department of corrections or any agency charged with the operation and management of state prisons, local jail cells maintained by any local or state law enforcement agency and youth residential placements or detention centers shall provide persons in their custody and confined in a correctional or detention facility, or held by any law enforcement agency pending an initial court appearance, with voice communication service. The department of corrections or other agency may supplement voice communication service with other communication services, including, but not limited to, video communication and electronic mail or messaging services. To the extent that such voice communication service or any other communication service is provided, which shall not be limited beyond program participation and routine facility procedures, each such service shall be provided free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the communication.

(b) The department of corrections, including all adult and juvenile facilities, in order to facilitate and accomplish the purposes of this section, shall maintain at a minimum the greater of:

(1) A ten (10) to one ratio of persons in custody to operable voice communication devices/telephones in each housing unit; or

(2) At least two (2) voice communication devices/telephones in each housing unit.

(c) Neither the department of corrections nor any agency charged with the operation and management of state prisons, or local jail cells maintained by any local or state law enforcement agency or youth residential placements or detention centers, shall receive revenue from the provision of voice communication services or any other communication services to any person confined in any correctional facility, local jail cell or youth residential placement or detention center.

(d) The department of corrections or any agency charged with the operation and management of state prisons or youth residential placements or detention centers shall provide persons in their custody and confined in their facilities with in-person contact visits.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.