HB4235eng 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4235 Engrossed LRB104 16740 RLC 30147 b

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by adding Section 3-7-10 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-7-10 new)

Sec. 3-7-10. Mail delivery, scanning, and communication services.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Correspondent" means any person or entity that sends mail to or receives mail from a committed person.

"Department" means the Department of Corrections.

"Mail communication" means the practice of the delivery and receipt of materials through the United States Postal Service.

"Mail scanning services" means the practice of electronically scanning incoming and outgoing mail to digitize the documents received and either print for distribution to persons in custody or electronically send the documents to the person in custody, including, but not limited to, the process of photocopying incoming and outgoing mail and distributing the photocopies to the person in custody.

"Other communication services" means communication services other than voice communications and mail communications, including, but not limited to, video calls and electronic messages.

"Voice communications" means real-time, audio-only communication services, including, but not limited to, phone calls made over wireline telephony, voice over Internet protocol, or any other technology infrastructure used to transmit voice communications between end users.

(b) The Department shall ensure that a committed person and the committed person's correspondents are not charged any fee, surcharge, or cost for mail communication or mail scanning services that exceeds the standard postage rate set by the United States Postal Service. The Department shall not charge the committed person or correspondent any fee, surcharge, or cost for any incoming mail addressed to and received by the committed person, including any material received through mail scanning services. The Department shall not charge the committed person any fee, surcharge, or cost for outgoing mail delivery or mail scanning services that exceeds the postage rate set by the United States Postal Service for any outgoing mail.

(c) The Department or any third-party vendor that the Department contracts with shall not impose any fee, surcharge, or cost to the committed person above the United States Postal Service rate for mail communication, including the delivery or scanning of mail.

(d) The Department or any third-party vendor that the Department contracts with shall not impose any fee, surcharge, or cost to the committed person above the applicable commercial shipping service rate when a commercial shipping service is utilized for correspondence, including the delivery or scanning of mail.

(e) The Department shall not use the provision of voice communication services, mail communication, mail scanning services, or any other communication services to supplant in-person contact visits.

(f) The Department shall not receive revenue from the provision of voice communications, mail communication, mail scanning services, or other communication services to a person in custody in any institutions or facilities of the Department.

(g) Beginning July 1, 2027, the Department shall annually report to the General Assembly on the status of any voice communication services, mail communication, mail scanning services, and all other communication services. The Department shall post the report on its website. The report shall include:

(1) the rates the agency is paying or charging committed persons or community members for any and all services in the contracts; and

(2) Department spending on a third-party vendor or vendors for voice communication services, mail communication, mail scanning services, or any other communication services.

(h) Notwithstanding Section 3-7-2a of this Code, postage stamps and essential mailing supplies, including envelopes, shall not be subject to the commissary markup authorized under that Section and shall be made available at no more than the Department's actual acquisition cost, rounded to the nearest cent.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.