SB441: Correctional facilities, state; fees associated with inmates.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The Department of Corrections (the Department) shall convene a work group to review and make recommendations regarding the reduction or elimination of costs and fees charged to inmates in state correctional facilities to use telephone services, purchase items or services from stores or commissaries, obtain pre-release copies of medical records, utilize electronic visitation systems, and maintain personal trust accounts, and any other costs and fees deemed relevant by the Department. The Department shall include all relevant stakeholders on the work group and shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by October 1, 2022.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The Department of Corrections shall convene a work group to study implementation of the reduction or elimination of certain fees associated with inmates in state correctional facilities. Such work group shall consult with all relevant stakeholders. The Department shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services and the House Committee on Public Safety by October 1, 2022.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The Department of Corrections (the Department) shall convene a work group to review and make recommendations regarding the reduction or elimination of costs and fees charged to inmates in state correctional facilities to use telephone services, purchase items or services from stores or commissaries, obtain pre-release copies of medical records, utilize electronic visitation systems, and maintain personal trust accounts, and any other costs and fees deemed relevant by the Department. The Department shall include all relevant stakeholders on the work group and shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Public Safety and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by October 1, 2022.
SENATE BILL NO. 441
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 53.1-1.1, 53.1-27, 53.1-28, 53.1-35.1, and 53.1-43.1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 53.1-1.1. Telephone systems within correctional facilities.
The Department of
Corrections shall offer debit or
prepaid telephone systems, in addition
to any existing collect calling systems, which that allow
telephone calls to be placed to the telephone number or numbers on an approved
call list. Such telephone systems may be
established with the lowest available rates. Telephone services shall be provided at no cost to
the inmate or to any recipient of a call from an inmate. The maximum
number of telephone numbers permitted on an approved call list shall be no less
than 20. A minimum ratio of one telephone per every 15
inmates shall be available within each housing unit at each
correctional facility. Neither the Department nor any correctional facility shall receive
any commission from such telephone systems.
§ 53.1-27. Establishment of stores in state correctional facilities.
The Director is hereby authorized to provide for the
establishment and operation of stores or commissaries in state correctional
facilities to deal in such articles as he deems proper. The profits from the
operation of such stores shall be used for educational, recreational, or pre-release
and post-release reentry and transition services, or other
purposes beneficial to the inmate population as may be
prescribed by the Director. The cost of
items or services sold by such stores or commissaries, including the sale or
rental of electronic devices or media, shall not exceed 10 percent of the
cost of the typical market rate for such goods and services in major retail stores
that are not affiliated with any correctional facility. The Department shall not
receive any commissions or markups from the products or
services sold.
§ 53.1-28. Authority to fix discharge date; improper release; warrant, arrest, and hearing.
For the purpose of scheduling and providing a uniform,
effective, and continual program of
pre-release training and conditioning of prisoners, the Director shall have
authority to discharge any prisoner within the Virginia penal system on any day
within a period of 30 days prior to the date upon which such prisoner's term
would normally expire. The Director shall provide, without cost,
each prisoner with the following documents upon discharge: (i) verification of
the prisoner's work history while in custody; (ii) certification of all
educational and treatment programs completed by the prisoner while in custody;
and (iii) a complete and comprehensive
copy of his medical records, so long as such prisoner
requests a copy of his records at least 60 days prior to the date upon which
the prisoner's term would expire. The Department shall
develop procedures wherein the records are to be made available to the prisoner
in a safe and secure manner.
The Director or his designee upon the discovery of an improper release or discharge of a prisoner from custody shall report such release or discharge to the circuit court of the jurisdiction wherein the prisoner was released or discharged. The circuit court shall then issue a warrant for the arrest of the prisoner which may be executed by any duly sworn correctional officer or law-enforcement officer. Such warrant shall direct that the prisoner be presented forthwith to the court to determine the propriety of the original discharge or release. After a hearing, if the court is satisfied that the release or discharge was made improperly, the prisoner shall be returned to the state correctional facility from which he was released or discharged, or to any other correctional facility designated by the Director to serve the remainder of his sentence.
§ 53.1-35.1. Electronic visitation and messaging with inmates; fees.
The Director is authorized to prescribe reasonable rules
regarding electronic visitation systems or electronic messaging systems,
including Voice-over-Internet Protocol technology and web-based communication
systems, for communication between prisoners and third parties and collection
of a fee for the system utilized. Any fee shall not exceed the
actual costs of establishing and operating such a system.
Any state correctional facility that utilizes such systems (i)
shall establish such system allowing for the security needs of the facility. Any state correctional
facility that utilizes such system, (ii)
shall not prohibit in-person visitation, (iii) shall
not exclude any inmate from its use, and (iv) shall
not receive any commissions from such service.
This section does not apply to telephonic communication systems or to electronic video and audio communication systems used in judicial proceedings.
§ 53.1-43.1. Inmate trust accounts.
In addition to any other account established to hold funds for
inmates, the Department shall establish for each inmate a personal trust
account. Unless an inmate has been sentenced to be
executed, is serving a sentence of life without the
possibility of parole, or is sentenced to a term that makes him ineligible for
release, excluding the conditional release of geriatric prisoners pursuant to §
53.1-40.01, prior to 75 years of age, 10 percent of any funds received by an
inmate from any source shall be deposited by the Department in the inmate's
personal trust account until the account has a balance of $1,000. When the
inmate's personal trust account reaches $1,000, any funds received by the
inmate shall be deposited in the inmate's other account. Fees charged
for the receipt of funds by an inmate shall not exceed three percent of the
amount received. The Department shall not receive any commissions
from such fees.
An inmate may direct the Department at any time to deposit a
portion or all of any funds received by him in the inmate's personal trust
account. After the balance of a personal trust account has exceeded $1,000, an
inmate may direct the Department to transfer funds from his personal trust
account to any other account maintained for him;, provided, however, that the
balance of the personal trust account shall not fall below $1,000.
Funds in an inmate's personal trust account shall be paid to the inmate upon parole or final discharge. The inmate shall be given an option to receive such funds by a check, an electronic transfer, or a debit or other account card. If an inmate receives funds through a debit or other account card by the Department or a vendor contracted with the Department, the inmate shall not be charged any fee to check account balances, transfer funds, or to close or maintain the account. The Department shall not collect any commission for the payment of an inmate's personal trust account funds upon parole or discharge.