Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Corrections Canteens topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Subcommittee approves bill to limit Department of Corrections canteen prices if facilities operate them
Summary
House Bill 3,929 received a favorable 5-0 report. The bill would establish statutory provisions governing Department of Corrections canteens and cap prices for items sold if a facility operates a canteen or allows third-party vendors.
House Bill 3,929, sponsored by Representative John King, received a favorable report from the Domestic Relations Business and Probate Law Subcommittee on a 5-0 roll call. The bill would establish statutory provisions directing how the South Carolina Department of Corrections (DOC) manages canteens and the pricing of items sold within those canteens when a facility chooses to operate them.
Representative John King, the bill’s sponsor, said he introduced the measure after hearing from family members of incarcerated people who described what he characterized as high canteen prices. “I believe that there's price gouging within the system... if they have to get, like, deodorant that's probably this size, they're paying, like, $10 for it,” Representative King said during the hearing.
Representative David Martin asked a clarifying question about whether the bill mandates canteens or merely regulates them if a facility elects to operate one. Martin noted his reading was that the bill would not require a canteen but would regulate pricing and operation if a warden or facility allowed a canteen. Representative King confirmed the bill leaves the decision to facility management and would regulate operations and prices only when a canteen is present.
On roll call Representatives Bernstein, Paula Calhoun, Guess, John King and David Martin voted aye; none opposed. The measure received a favorable report and will proceed to additional legislative consideration.
