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Committee opens H294 discussion: studies of prison phone pricing and incarcerated-person wages set for further review
Summary
Senate Institutions members agreed H294 will direct two studies—one on the feasibility of eliminating telecommunications costs for incarcerated people and another on paying incarcerated workers fair wages—and identified DOC, UVM researchers, the Prison Research Institute and other witnesses for the studies.
The Senate Institutions Committee on May 14 began consideration of H294, a bill that would direct two separate feasibility studies: one to analyze telecommunications pricing and potential transition scenarios (including Wi‑Fi), and another to evaluate paying incarcerated people fair wages for facility work. Summer, identified on the record as director of communications for the Department of Corrections, and Haley Sard, introduced as director of the Department of Corrections, summarized the bill’s history and the current scope.
Summer said the original bill would have eliminated costs for telecommunications and required the department to pay incarcerated people for facility jobs, but legislators changed the bill into two studies because immediate implementation is not currently feasible financially. "The department could outline what the feasibility would be of making telecommunications free for incarcerated people and paying incarcerated people fair wages," Summer said. The committee agreed both studies should analyze transition costs and benefits, including scenarios with and without Wi‑Fi.
Members asked about commissary pricing and contractor arrangements. Summer said the DOC currently contracts commissary services to a vendor (named in the transcript as "KEE") and that commissary pricing varies—some items are comparable to community prices; others cost more. DOC also contracts tablet-based communications through a contractor identified in the transcript as IC Solutions. Summer provided per-unit pricing for services available through the tablet system: domestic phone calls approximately $0.02 per minute, tablet messages $0.25 per message, tablet video calls $0.16 per minute and voice messaging $0.25 per minute; she said pricing details are posted on the department’s public website and in the bill’s study materials.
Committee members noted several entities they intend to call for the studies, including UVM researchers who produced a referenced report, the Prison Research Institute, DOC leadership (including the deputy commissioner), and potentially CoreCivic regarding out-of-state incarceration costs. The Joint Fiscal Office and the Public Utility Commission were mentioned as possible technical witnesses on pricing and categorization for telecom services. The committee confirmed H294 remains two studies (wages and telecommunications) and will schedule witnesses accordingly.
Next steps: committee staff will arrange witnesses including DOC subject-matter officials and the research teams, and the two studies will analyze costs and benefits and examine transition scenarios (including Wi‑Fi) before the committee takes further action.
