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House Corrections Committee reviews H.294 draft requiring DOC study of no‑cost inmate calls and wage impacts
Summary
The House Corrections & Institutions Committee examined draft 3.1 of H.294, directing the Department of Corrections to evaluate no‑cost telecommunication options for incarcerated people, engage a list of stakeholders including the PUC and re‑entry providers, and complete wage‑impact and telecom reports with checkpoints Sept. 15 and Nov. 15 ahead of a final report due Dec. 1, 2026.
The House Corrections & Institutions Committee on Wednesday reviewed draft 3.1 of H.294, a bill that would require the Department of Corrections (DOC) to evaluate options for providing no‑cost telecommunication services to people incarcerated under DOC custody and to produce a separate wage‑impact report on inmate labor.
John Gray of the Office of Legislative Counsel walked members through restructuring the draft so the bill’s intent language applies broadly to both reports and the two required analyses are separated. Gray said the telecommunications analysis would require DOC to report on “including reasonably ascertainable behavioral, security or safety impacts both inside and outside state correctional facilities,” language the committee debated for clarity and scope.
The change reflects the panel’s direction to focus the telecom study on how increased connectivity may affect rehabilitation, family contact and safety. Members pressed for specificity about what “outside the facility” includes; several framed it as the incarcerated person’s…
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