Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced legislation this week aimed at regulating telephone services toncorrectional facilities. The Family Telephone Connection Protection Act (HR-1403) would amend thenCommunications Act to require the FCC to set a maximum telephone rate at correctional facilities, prohibitnservice providers from paying commissions to correctional administrators, and require correctionalninstitutions to allow more than one provider to offer telephone services to inmates. If enacted, the legislationnwould require the commission to implement the new rules within one year, and the rules would bensubject to a triennial review. The legislation follows recent pleas from prisoners who in handwritten lettersnfrom across the country asked the commission to help bring phone call price reform to the nations'ncorrectional facilities (CD March 26 p4). The inmate comments were filed in docket 12-375 on the commission’snNPRM on prison phone call reforms (CD Dec 31 p6).
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