MJP –
The costs that Texas prisoners must cover for phone calls will be reduced following the approval of new federal rules this month. For a while now, Texas inmates, their loved ones, and supporters have been aiming to lower the steep charges of 23 cents per minute for phone calls in jails.
Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission decided to endorse new regulations that will limit the cost of phone and video calls for inmates starting next year, with rates as low as 5 cents per minute.
Prices and limits vary across the state, contingent on the size of the correctional facility and variations in regulations between state and local authorities. In 2018, Texas reduced the cost of phone calls in state correctional facilities managed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to 6 cents per minute. However, the rates in county jails under local jurisdiction frequently exceed this amount.
The cost of video calls was set free throughout the entire region. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the typical cost of a local phone call from a Texas prison in 2021 was 23 cents per minute.
In a statement, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel criticized these prices as “unacceptable,” pointing out that at times a solitary phone call can amount to the price of a limitless monthly cell phone plan.
The upcoming rules will be gradually put into effect. By no later than April 1, 2026, this will apply to all detention centers nationwide.
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Drew Willey, a Houston lawyer known for his longstanding support of providing inmates in Harris County Jail with free telephone calls, commended the recent regulations mandating reduced fees. “Willey mentioned that it prevents serious breaches in areas where no one has taken notice of this issue, allowing private companies to accumulate expenses for everyone,” stated Willey.
The design of the new caps takes into account the size of the correctional facilities, featuring lower ceilings in larger jails and prisons.
The recently established maximum rates for phone calls vary between 6 and 12 cents per minute, while video calls range from 11 to 25 cents per minute. In Texas, a law has been established to limit the charges for services provided at state correctional facilities to a maximum of 5 cents per minute.
In Texas, it is required by law that the earnings generated from telephone and video communications originating from Texas Department of Criminal Justice establishments, such as correctional facilities, private prisons, and state jails, are to be shared between the service provider and the state.
According to the regulation, 40 percent of the earnings are allocated to the state, while the contractor receives the remaining 60 percent. Most of the funds gathered by the state are directed towards the Texas Crime Victims Fund, while the rest is allocated to the general revenue fund.
A limit of 2 cents per minute will be imposed on the fees that government agencies can receive under the new FCC rules. Given that the government’s share of revenue cannot surpass 2 cents per minute, the total cost of phone and video calls in Texas correctional facilities is capped at 5 cents per minute.
This represents a 16% reduction from the previous limit of 6 cents per minute for state inmates. This modification does not impact local detention centers.
In 2017, when Willey began his campaign in Harris County, a 20-minute phone call cost $14.99, according to his statement. In Harris County, there is a new agreement in place that allows inmates to make up to four complimentary phone calls every week.
Additionally, any additional calls will be charged at a rate of 2 cents per minute. A significant number of prisons in the state continue to uphold an elevated rate.
Supporters aim to offer Texas prisoners free phone calls, similar to services available in other states. According to Wiley, offering free phone calls could reduce the likelihood of individuals returning to criminal behavior, avoid unjust convictions by ensuring adequate legal representation, enhance the psychological well-being of prisoners, and enhance public safety by avoiding complete isolation of detainees before their reintegration into the community.
The latest regulations also prohibit telecommunication companies from adding extra charges for “additional services.” In the past, it was common for businesses to impose fees for services such as placing a single call without a registered account or adding money to an account to cover upcoming calls.
Moreover, the rule guarantees that any remaining funds in the account of a freed prisoner are not confiscated by the telecommunications corporations. Now these companies must make an effort to refund the money in case they are aware of a release or if the funds have remained untouched for 180 days.
In case the item cannot be returned, it must be handed over to state initiatives that safeguard unclaimed funds, such as the unclaimed property division of the state comptroller’s office in Texas. According to a lawsuit in Georgia, Global Tel*Link, a company, managed to accumulate an average of over $1.2 million per month from unclaimed funds for more than eight years.
By January 1, 2025, all correctional facilities and detention centers with a daily average of 1,000 inmates or more must adhere to the regulations. Prisons housing less than 1,000 prisoners are required to meet the regulations by April 1, 2025.
In case correctional facilities have current agreements with telecommunication companies by June 27, 2024, they must adhere to the regulations before the contract ends or by January 1, 2026, for bigger facilities, and by April 1, 2026, for smaller facilities.
“The FCC’s order is a massive victory for incarcerated people, their families, and their allies who have spent decades fighting the exploitative prison telecom industry,” the Prison Policy Initiative wrote in a statement. “Of course, it does not mean the long fight for communications justice is over.”
Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance – an advocacy group for incarcerated women in Texas – echoed other advocates, saying they will continue working toward “comprehensive reforms that ensure all incarcerated individuals have the opportunity to stay connected with their loved ones without financial barriers.”
Along with monetary changes, the FCC also decided that telecom companies must ensure their communication devices and services – such as phone calls, video chats, and messaging – are accessible to incarcerated people with disabilities. This will improve communication options for incarcerated individuals who have hearing or speech disabilities.
If it’s not possible to make these devices and services accessible for specific disabilities, companies must ensure their systems can work with devices that people with disabilities commonly use.
The federal changes come after some sparring in the courts, where the FCC’s authority to limit these rates was challenged. In 2022, the FCC was granted full authority to regulate inmate calls by Congress with the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act – named after a grandmother who filed a petition with the FCC about the rates more than two decades ago.
“Today, using this new law, we fix what has been wrong for too long,” Rosenworcel said.
The FCC released the final order on inmate calls this Monday, officially cementing the regulation.
