Alaska committee hears bill to allow electronic tablets in correctional facilities to expand education, telehealth and visitation

Juneau — The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee on Feb. 20 heard testimony on House Bill 35, a measure sponsored by Representative Rebecca Himshut that would allow the Department of Corrections to provide restricted electronic tablets to people in state custody for rehabilitative and reentry purposes, legal research, telehealth and online visitation.

Supporters and Department of Corrections (DOC) officials told the committee the devices are intended to expand education, health-care access, legal resources and virtual visitation without replacing in-person services.

"These devices are not a luxury. These devices are critical access to ... education, telehealth, virtual visitation, and preparation for reentry," Representative Rebecca Himshut said while introducing the bill. She described Alaska as "one of only two states in the nation not currently providing this access." The bill is the committee's first and only order of business for the hearing.

The bill would amend Alaska Statute 33.30.015 to enumerate permitted electronic-device uses (rehabilitation and reentry planning, legal materials, health care services and expanded visitation) and to prohibit correctional facilities from charging fees for email or online visitation services. It also adds language that online visitation "may supplement, not supplant, in-person visitation or other in-person rehabilitation efforts," and includes clarifying effective-date language.

DOC deputy commissioner April Wilkerson told the committee the measure is a policy bill and the department is running a pilot at Highland Mountain. "It is coming before you because this is just granting authority, and we do have the pilot program, operational," Wilkerson said. She said the department budget currently includes roughly $249,000 tied to the Highland Mountain pilot and later stated the department paid about $300,000 for initial infrastructure in FY2024. The committee was told a vendor charges about $50 per account per month under the pilot.

Superintendent Brandon Jones, who oversees Highland Mountain Correctional Center, described how the pilot limits connectivity to common areas. "For this pilot project, they are not [used] inside of the offenders' rooms. The vendor was able to successfully not allow the network to reach the living sleeping areas," Jones said, describing use in day rooms, education and medical spaces where connectivity is available. He added the configuration could be adjusted if statute language changed to permit cell use.

Committee members asked whether tablets would be available only to people with reentry/case plans. DOC officials and the superintendent said the pilot has not been limited to people with written case plans and that unsentenced individuals in the pilot could establish accounts. Deputy Commissioner Wilkerson noted the bill's language links permitted device uses to rehabilitation and reentry planning and suggested further offline conversations on statutory interpretation.

Several invited witnesses from Alaska reentry coalitions testified in support. Terry Tibbitt, coordinator of the Alaska Reentry Partnership, said tablets would remove a barrier to programming and everyday tasks that affect reentry success, from vocational training to filling out housing and employment applications. "We believe that these tablets would support rehabilitative programming," Tibbitt said.

Marsha Oates, Fairbanks Reentry Coalition coordinator and a person with lived experience of the justice system, said digital access would aid case management and education: "Successful reentry means safer communities," she testified, adding that digital tools can help complete paperwork and prepare people for release. Don Habiger, Juneau Reentry Coalition coordinator, cited out-of-state models such as California's Last Mile program as examples of technology-based training linked to higher employment and lower recidivism.

Committee members pressed DOC on costs, vendor sourcing and metrics. Wilkerson said the department expects to treat the bill as a policy authorizing tablets and to address procurement and deployment costs through future budget measures (potentially FY2027). The current pilot vendor is not Alaska-based but maintains an Alaska business presence and was procured under a NASPO contract; DOC said it would issue an RFP when expanding the program and that Alaska businesses would receive preference under procurement rules.

Wilkerson and other DOC officials said the pilot is still maturing and that objective outcome data are limited. The committee was told tablets were fully deployed to the pilot site in March, the offender handbook and a digital law library were added, grievance access went live in October, and additional functionality (requests for information) is being developed with the vendor. Account counts at Highland Mountain have ranged from roughly 318 to nearly 390, and the department said tablets were issued with unique identifiers to individuals in the pilot.

Committee chair Co-chair Mears closed the invited testimony and said the committee would "put the bill aside for further consideration" and return with scheduling for follow-up questions and finance subcommittee work on DOC budgeting.

The committee took no final vote on HB 35 at the Feb. 20 hearing; committee members asked DOC for further fiscal and operational detail to inform later action.