Bill Text: NY A04695 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to providing voice communication service to incarcerated people in local correctional facilities at no cost; requires agencies charged with the operation and management of local correctional facilities and juvenile detention facilities to provide persons in their custody with voice communication service at a minimum of 90 minutes per day.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to correction [A04695 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A04695-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4695 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to providing voice communication services to incarcerated people in local correctional facilities at no cost The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 623-a 2 to read as follows: 3 § 623-a. Voice communication services for incarcerated people in local 4 correctional facilities. 1. Agencies charged with the operation and 5 management of local correctional facilities and juvenile detention 6 facilities shall provide persons in their custody and confined in a 7 correctional or detention facility with voice communication service at a 8 minimum of ninety minutes per day and ensure sufficient infrastructure 9 to meet this baseline. The commissioner may supplement voice communi- 10 cation service with other advanced communication services, including, 11 but not limited to, video communication and electronic mail services. To 12 the extent that the commissioner provides such voice communication 13 service or any other advanced communication service, each such service 14 shall be provided free of charge to the person initiating and the person 15 receiving the communication. 16 2. No agency shall receive revenue from the provision of voice commu- 17 nication services or any other communication services to any person 18 confined in a local correctional or detention facility. 19 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, replace or 20 prevent in-person visitation between persons confined in a local correc- 21 tional or detention facility and relatives, friends or any other persons 22 approved to visit such person. 23 4. The department shall establish rules and regulations or depart- 24 mental procedures to ensure that any voice communication services for EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07467-01-1A. 4695 2 1 incarcerated people established by this section provides reasonable 2 security measures to preserve the safety and security of each correc- 3 tional facility, all staff and all persons outside a facility who may 4 receive communications from incarcerated people. 5 § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2022 and shall apply to any 6 new or renewal contract for voice communications for incarcerated people 7 or other advanced communication services entered into on or after such 8 date and provided further that any new or renewal contract for voice 9 communications for incarcerated people or other advanced communication 10 services entered into prior to April 1, 2022 shall not run past March 11 31, 2022.
