Subcommittee advances bill to regulate Department of Corrections canteen pricing; sponsor calls out alleged price gouging

The Domestic Relations, Business and Probate Law Subcommittee voted 5-0 to give House Bill 3,929 a favorable report. The bill, filed by Representative John King, would establish statutory provisions governing how the Department of Corrections manages prison canteens and the pricing of items sold there.

Representative John King, the bill’s sponsor and a subcommittee member, said he introduced the measure because he “believe[s] that there's price gouging within the system, in the canteens,” and that the bill would put limits on how much can be charged. King described complaints he had received from family members of incarcerated people who said they faced high prices for basic items: “if they have to get, like, deodorant that's probably this size, they're paying, like, $10 for it.”

Representative David Martin asked whether the bill would require facilities to operate canteens; King confirmed the bill is permissive. “It's not required that the prisons actually do this,” King said. “This is just a ‘may’ — in the event they want to, this would then regulate it.” He told members it would be up to the warden or whoever manages a facility to decide whether to operate a canteen; if a canteen is operated the bill would regulate how it is run and priced.

The subcommittee ordered a favorable report on HB 3,929 by roll call (Representative Bernstein: Aye; Representative Paula Calhoun: Aye; Representative Guest: Aye; Representative John King: Aye; Representative David Martin: Aye). The vote was 5 in favor, none opposed. The text of the bill discussed at the meeting did not specify a numerical price cap in the portion of the discussion recorded on the transcript; no fiscal estimates were presented during the subcommittee hearing.