Ask your legislator to vote yes on AB 1876. Why does it cost more for a kid in Alameda County juvenile hall to make a collect call to his father in Santa Clara County than to his grandparents in Virginia? Why is a person serving a short misdemeanor sentence in jail charged $12.75 for a 15-minute phone call to his wife, when a person in state prison would pay $2.00 for the same call? Why is it prohibitively expensive for a mother detained on a federal immigration hold to call relatives to arrange child care for her U.S. citizen children so that they will not be placed in foster care? Because all these people are being detained in facilities run by California’s 58 counties. Costs are exorbitant because telephone service providers negotiate commissions (as high as 80% of gross revenue) with local sheriffs departments in order to win contracts to provide telephone service within California. They pass the cost on to consumers and that makes contact with attorneys and family members prohibitively expensive. This used to be true in facilities and prisons run by the state of California, too – but that was changed years ago with the passage of SB 81 to eliminate the payment of commissions to the state. Since then rates have come down for state prisons - but not at the county level. We need change. We know that connection with family members is one of the most important factors in reducing recidivism. And adequate contact with legal representation is fundamental to due process. It just makes sense to bring county facilities in line with existing state policy. Friends Committee on Legislation of California, Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, the California Immigrant Policy Center, and Ella Baker Center for Civil Rights have teamed up to co-sponsor AB 1876, authored by Assembly Member Bill Quirk. AB 1876 prohibits county jails from accepting commissions or other payments from a telephone company as an incentive to adopt a contract. The bill faces an Assembly Floor vote very soon. Please TAKE ACTION and contact your legislator today. capwiz/fclca/utr/1/JUKBTUXJOG/NZWJTUXJQJ/10367986566
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 19:46:36 +0000
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