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Committee advances bill to expand free communications for incarcerated and civilly confined people
Summary
House File 1861 would expand free communications for people in state custody to include video calls and electronic messaging and extend coverage to certain civilly confined individuals; fiscal questions and monitoring procedures were discussed and the bill was re‑referred to Public Safety Policy and Finance.
Representative Ajbaja introduced House File 1861, which would expand a 2023 law that made telephone calls free for incarcerated people to include video calls and electronic messaging and to cover persons civilly confined by state programs. The author said research shows that maintained family connections reduce recidivism.
Antonia Jeffrey of Worth Rises (via Zoom) testified in support and cited experience from other states. Jeffrey projected the expansion could cost roughly $750,000 annually based on vendor rates in jurisdictions with free communications and noted that Minnesota currently charges 23¢ per minute for video calls. She added FCC rules requiring reduced rates for some services could reduce costs for Minnesota.
Committee members asked about fiscal details and operational impacts. Nonpartisan staff explained the fiscal note combined costs for the Department of Corrections and Department of Human Services; DHS costs to this committee were listed as $753,027 in the fiscal note, while combined agency totals were estimated at approximately $2.6 million in the next biennium with higher tails. Staff noted a major cost driver is staffing to monitor calls.
Representatives asked how devices and monitoring would be handled for civilly confined treatment programs. Nancy Johnston, Executive Director of Minnesota MSOP, said DHS does not monitor video calls; Office of Special Investigations monitors phone calls and DHS had temporary funding through 2026 for four additional monitoring staff following the free-call change. The bill would also direct reporting on negotiation efforts for lower vendor rates.
Representative Abhagaje moved re-referral to Public Safety Policy and Finance; the committee re-referred the bill by voice vote. No final appropriation was made during the hearing.
