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NEW YORK--The Family Connections Bill (S.5299-A) moved out of the state Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Corrections, and Crime Monday, bringing New York closer to ending what critics say is the unjust backdoor tax being on families of prisoners by MCI on telephone calls from inmates. The Assembly version of the bill (A.7231-A) passed in June of last year, but will have to pass the Assembly again in 2006.
"As this bill moves to the Senate floor, families of prisoners have real hope that their obscene phone bills will end," said Annette Dickerson, who coordinates the NY Campaign for Telephone Justice on behalf of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "We applaud the committee chair, Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio (R-Auburn) for this bold action."
Under the state's monopoly contract with MCI, the average prison phone call is billed at 19 minutes, costing just over $6 and adding up to monthly phone bills of up to $400. New York State gets a 57.5% kickback on MCI's profits.
The Family Connections Bill will:
-- Prohibit the state from entering into a similar contract once the current contract expires on March 31, 2006.
-- Require that in the future the state contract with the lowest bidder for the purposes of providing telephone services to inmates.
-- Prevent the state from making a profit off of the arrangement. Currently the state takes 57.5% of the total profit.
-- Present facilities with the choice of providing phone service through collect calls or a debit card service.
-- Allow prisoners to maintain contact with their loved ones by lowering phone rates. Currently families are forced to choose between buying food or paying rent and paying their telephone bill.
MCI recently implemented a new billing policy for this contract, which has further outraged family members. Prisoners' families must pay MCI each time their bill reaches $100, regardless of whether they have paid their bills on time in the past. MCI gives prisoners' families the option of putting money down in advance, but for people on limited or fixed incomes - and considering that many bills approach $400 - that is often not possible. If the payment is not made within 48 hours, the consumer's phone is blocked from receiving collect calls from prison, and it can take days of jumping bureaucratic hurdles to get service restored.
"This new policy hurts families who do not have credit cards and cannot ensure that their payment is received within 48 hours," noted Dickerson. "Other MCI customers have not been targeted in this manner."
The Center for Constitutional Rights is also fighting the MCI contract in court. Byrd v. Goord, in Federal court, and Walton v. NYSDOCS, in New York State court, both challenge the legality of the contract and its affect on family members.
"Prisoners who maintain close contact with their families and communities reenter society more successfully and are much less likely to return to prison," Dickerson concluded. "But the exorbitant prices of prison phone calls impede a critical means for families to keep in touch."
The New York Campaign for Telephone Justice works to end the kickback contract between MCI and the New York State Department of Correctional Services and deliver choice, affordability, and equitable service to the families and friends of those incarcerated in New York State. The campaign is a project of the Center for Constitutional Rights, in partnership with Prison Families of New York, Inc. and Prison Families Community Forum.
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a nonprofit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1-9-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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