CD CORR-COMMITTED PERSON MAIL, the official text

HB4235 Enrolled                     LRB104 16740 RLC 30147 b

1   AN ACT concerning criminal law.

2   Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3 represented in the General Assembly:

4   Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by

5 adding Section 3-7-10 as follows:

6   (730 ILCS 5/3-7-10 new)

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

8 services.

9   (a) As used in this Section:

10  "Correspondent" means any person or entity that sends mail

11 to or receives mail from a committed person.

12  "Department" means the Department of Corrections.

13  "Mail communication" means the practice of the delivery

14 and receipt of materials through the United States Postal

15 Service.

16  "Mail scanning services" means the practice of

17 electronically scanning incoming and outgoing mail to digitize

18 the documents received and either print for distribution to

19 persons in custody or electronically send the documents to the

20 person in custody, including, but not limited to, the process

21 of photocopying incoming and outgoing mail and distributing

22 the photocopies to the person in custody.

23  "Other communication services" means communication
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1 services other than voice communications and mail

2 communications, including, but not limited to, video calls and

3 electronic messages.

4   "Voice communications" means real-time, audio-only

5 communication services, including, but not limited to, phone

6 calls made over wireline telephony, voice over Internet

7 protocol, or any other technology infrastructure used to

8 transmit voice communications between end users.

9   (b) The Department shall ensure that a committed person

10 and the committed person's correspondents are not charged any

11 fee, surcharge, or cost for mail communication or mail

12 scanning services that exceeds the standard postage rate set

13 by the United States Postal Service. The Department shall not

14 charge the committed person or correspondent any fee,

15 surcharge, or cost for any incoming mail addressed to and

16 received by the committed person, including any material

17 received through mail scanning services. The Department shall

18 not charge the committed person any fee, surcharge, or cost

19 for outgoing mail delivery or mail scanning services that

20 exceeds the postage rate set by the United States Postal

21 Service for any outgoing mail.

22  (c) The Department or any third-party vendor that the

23 Department contracts with shall not impose any fee, surcharge,

24 or cost to the committed person above the United States Postal

25 Service rate for mail communication, including the delivery or

26 scanning of mail.
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1   (d) The Department or any third-party vendor that the

2 Department contracts with shall not impose any fee, surcharge,

3 or cost to the committed person above the applicable

4 commercial shipping service rate when a commercial shipping

5 service is utilized for correspondence, including the delivery

6 or scanning of mail.

7   (e) The Department shall not use the provision of voice

8 communication services, mail communication, mail scanning

9 services, or any other communication services to supplant

10 in-person contact visits.

11  (f) The Department shall not receive revenue from the

12 provision of voice communications, mail communication, mail

13 scanning services, or other communication services to a person

14 in custody in any institutions or facilities of the

15 Department.

16  (g) Beginning July 1, 2027, the Department shall annually

17 report to the General Assembly on the status of any voice

18 communication services, mail communication, mail scanning

19 services, and all other communication services. The Department

20 shall post the report on its website. The report shall

21 include:

22  (1) the rates the agency is paying or charging

23  committed persons or community members for any and all

24  services in the contracts; and

25  (2) Department spending on a third-party vendor or

26  vendors for voice communication services, mail
   HB4235 Enrolled          -4-  LRB104 16740 RLC 30147 b

1  communication, mail scanning services, or any other

2  communication services.

3  (h) Notwithstanding Section 3-7-2a of this Code, postage

4 stamps and essential mailing supplies, including envelopes,

5 shall not be subject to the commissary markup authorized under

6 that Section and shall be made available at no more than the

7 Department's actual acquisition cost, rounded to the nearest

8 cent.

9  Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

10 becoming law.