Site commissions are now prohibited, and facilities can no longer accept gifts, monetary payments, exchange of services or goods, or technology allowances from providers.
Effective January 1, 2025, the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act expands and clarifies the scope of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) authority over incarcerated people’s communications services. To help incarcerated individuals, their families, advocates, and policymakers navigate the new federal regulations, the United Church of Christ (UCC) Media Justice Ministry released this guide. This resource is designed to empower incarcerated people and their loved ones to understand their rights, challenge unfair charges, and advocate for the enforcement of the new rules. The guide breaks down newly established per-minute rate caps for both audio and video calls. It also clarifies new rules for international calls, which will follow domestic rate caps plus an additional country-specific fee. Beyond rate reductions, the guide outlines the elimination of ancillary fees and details mandatory consumer disclosures requiring service providers to post rates and send personalized monthly billing statements publicly.
You can read the full text here.
Key Findings:
- For domestic calls, prisons and large jails have rate caps of $0.06 per minute for voice calls and $0.16 per minute for video calls, while small jails have caps of $0.12 per minute for voice calls and $0.25 per minute for video calls.
- Providers can no longer charge ancillary fees, including fees for automated payments, live agent assistance, paper bills, or third-party financial transactions.