Prison Visits and Free Phone Calls (H 8117)

Twenty years ago, Rhode Island was one of the first states in the country to address the issue of exorbitant phone call rates for incarcerated individuals to call their families. Rhode Island took the lead on this by passing a law barring telephone service providers from charging prison calls at a rate different than those for non-prison calls, and prohibiting the state from obtaining any profits from these phone service contracts.

As such, we supported legislation that would build on this important law by offering those call services for free to people incarcerated at the ACI and to their families. Prisoners' families bear the cost, often at significant personal sacrifice, for these calls.