Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Corrections Reform topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to make prison phone calls free, sponsors say state cost could be smaller than fiscal note
Summary
Supporters told the House Judiciary Committee that House Bill 401 would remove the phone-cost burden from families of incarcerated Marylanders and shift it to the state, and witnesses estimated the net cost could be far lower than the agency fiscal note if contracts are renegotiated.
The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on House Bill 401, which would require the state to pay for communications between incarcerated people and their families instead of leaving the cost to those families.
Delegate Kent Roberson, the sponsor, framed the bill as a reentry and family-preservation measure: "Phone calls serve as a pathway to restoration, allowing individuals to stay up to date with events and inspiring them to continue their personal transformation," he told the committee. The sponsor acknowledged a large fiscal note but said further analysis should include offsetting savings and contract renegotiation leverage.
Antonia Jeffrey of Worth Rises, a national nonprofit that helped other jurisdictions adopt free-calls policies, told the committee an earlier model estimated providing free phone service would cost Maryland about $2.8 million per year after recent Federal Communications Commission rule changes reduced allowable fees. She testified the total families presently pay an estimated $12 million a year to the state's provider.
Family members and reentry advocates gave personal accounts. Penny Barnett described the practical barriers her family faced setting up a prepaid account and how timely calls suggestedly helped her son through a period of severe mental illness; Terry Speakes described being denied the chance to call his mother while she was dying. Public defender and reentry groups argued that continued contact reduces recidivism and strengthens public safety.
Proponents said the bill includes a delayed effective date and an advisory committee to design the program and allow time to renegotiate telecom contracts. Mark Woodard of Job Opportunities Task Force said prior implementations across jurisdictions show costs can be lower than initial fiscal estimates if contracts are renegotiated and tablets or line-based alternatives are used.
Committee members asked detailed fiscal questions about whether the state's current contracts and the rising use of tablets affect cost estimates. Delegate Roberson said the $2.8 million figure assumes renegotiated rates and new FCC rules.
No vote was taken at the hearing; sponsors said they would provide additional fiscal details and contract models to the committee staff before further action.
