CONNECTICUT — Yesterday, Connecticut's Appropriations Committee issued a joint favorable vote for Senate Bill 972, passing it out of the committee and sending it to the Senate floor for a full vote. Worth Rises joins incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, their families, and other advocates in celebrating this important step towards bringing prison phone justice to the state.
“It’s exciting to see the Connecticut legislature really get behind this bill to alleviate the financial burden that families with incarcerated loves ones are being forced to bear just to stay connected. We knew this should and would be a bipartisan effort and yesterday's overwhelming support confirmed that,” said Bianca Tylek, Executive Director of Worth Rises. “The committee's vote and recent budget allocation are a clear sign that legislators have finally recognized the harm caused by exploitative prison phone rates and are ready to do something about it. We are looking forward to working with leadership in the Senate and House over the coming weeks to get SB 972 across the finish line. Families have been waiting too long.”
“We’ve been working on this issue with advocates for a long time. It’s shameful to think our state is ranked worst in the nation in the affordability of a simple prison phone call, and worse, that we were directly profiting. The way we’ve allowed and been complicit in the exploitation of families with incarcerated loved ones is just plainly wrong,” said Representative Josh Elliot. “We knew this was possible in a bipartisan way, because Connecticut families are near and dear to all of our hearts. I’m thrilled to finally pass this long overdue legislation.”
Senate Bill 972 is a Judiciary Committee bill that would allow Connecticut residents to communicate with their incarcerated loved ones at no cost, prohibit the state from taking kickbacks from its prison telecom vendor, and protect visits for Connecticut residents with incarcerated loved ones.
Background: For years, Connecticut families have paid unconscionable rates to stay connected with their incarcerated loved ones. As the Connecting Families coalition pushed to make prison phone calls free, over the past year, Connecticut earned the dubious distinction of ranking last in the country in the affordability of prison calls. More than 20 advocacy organizations authored a joint letter to the Connecticut state legislature, calling on lawmakers to pass legislation. For more information, please see the coalition fact sheet and read the impact stories.