PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed action:
Repeal of section 723.3(d)(2)–(4) and addition of new section 723.3(d)(2)–(4); amendment of sections 723.3(e)(2), (3) and (8), 723.5(b)(6), (c)(2) and (d); and repeal of section 723.5(d)(1)–(6) of Title 7 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Correction Law, section 112
Subject:
Inmate telephone calls.
Purpose:
To better document public requests not to be contacted by specific inmates, prohibit inmates from contacting their victims or people with court orders of protection.
Text of proposed rule:
Section 723.3(d)(2)–(4) of 7 NYCRR is repealed and a new section 723.3(d)(2)–(4) is adopted to read as follows:
(2) Whenever the recipient of an inmate's correspondence or telephone calls indicates, in any manner, that he or she does not wish to receive further correspondence or phone calls from the inmate, the correspondence unit, the package room, the Deputy Superintendent for Security, the Senior Correction Counselor, the facility Parole Office and the inmate shall be notified. Departmental Form 3402 shall be used for notification. A copy will be filed.
(3) Negative Correspondence and Telephone List: The Negative Correspondence and Telephone List shall contain the name of any person or business that has indicated, in any manner, that further correspondence from the inmate is not desired. If a request to be removed from an inmate's telephone or correspondence list is received, a letter of confirmation shall be sent to the person making the request. If such a person or business indicates, at a later time, that further correspondence is not objectionable, the Superintendent or his designee may, but need not, direct the name of the person or business be removed from the Negative Correspondence and Telephone List.
(4) No inmate shall continue to submit mail to or make telephone calls to any person or business that currently appears on his or her Negative Correspondence and Telephone List. Any inmate continuing to do so may be subject to disciplinary action and/or monitoring of outgoing mail for a specific period of time.
Section 723.3(e)(2)(3) and (8) of 7 NYCRR is amended as follows:
(2) No inmate may place a telephone call to the residence of a victim of the crime(s) for which the inmate has been convicted or is presently under indictment regardless of whether immediate family members maintain the same residence, unless prior written authorization has been received from the Superintendent. The name of the person(s) will be added to the Negative Correspondence and Telephone List. Departmental Form 3402 will be completed and used for notification. A copy will be filed.
(3) No inmate may call the phone number of any person listed on a court order of protection which prohibits telephone communication, unless the order specifically states that the inmate is not prohibited from communicating by phone with another person at that same phone number. The name of the person(s) will be added to the Negative Correspondence and Telephone List. Departmental Form 3402 will be completed and used for notification. A copy will be filed.
(8) Inmates are prohibited from making toll-free telephone calls . [, including toll-free 800 numbers,] Inmates are prohibited from making telephone calls to order goods and services from private vendors or to conduct business-related activities.
Section 723.5(b)(6) of 7 NYCRR is amended as follows:
(6) Call should be limited in duration based on facility needs and will automatically terminate when the specified time limit has been reached [, preceded by a warning buzz]. No call shall exceed 30 minutes. When other inmates are waiting to place calls, a 10-minute limit may be imposed.
Section 723.5(c)(2) of 7 NYCRR is amended as follows:
(2) To establish the permanent telephone list, the inmate must fill out a “telephone form” and give it to his/her correction counselor for approval. No inmate may add any person who is listed on an active court order of protection which prohibits such contacts.
Section 723.5(d)(1)–(6) of 7 NYCRR is repealed and section 723.5(d) is amended as follows:
(d) Calling procedure. The inmate shall access the system by utilization of an individual PIN number which is the inmate DIN number modified so that the alpha letter is converted to corresponding numeral. The detailed procedures for inmate self-dial calling are set forth in the departmental directive on inmate telephone calls which are located in inmate libraries and may be viewed by the public at www.docs.state.ny.us, under the “Directives” menu options, titled: “Inmate Telephone Calls (Directive 4423).”
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Anthony J. Annucci, Deputy Commissioner and Counsel, Department of Correctional Services, Bldg. 2, State Campus, Albany, NY 12226-2050, (518) 485-9613, e-mail: AJAnnucci@docs.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Regulatory Impact Statement
Statutory Authority
Section 112 of Correction Law assigns to the commissioner of correction the powers and duties of management and control of correctional facilities and inmates, and the responsibilities to make rules and regulations for the government and discipline of correctional facilities.
Legislative Objective
By vesting the commissioner with this rule making authority, the legislature intended the commissioner to establish and publish rules and procedures to allow members of the public to request not to be contacted by individual inmates, restrict inmates from making toll-free telephone calls or ordering goods and services by telephone, restrict inmates from calling people who have an active court order of protection against them, and develop a procedure on how inmates are to access the telephone system and limit the amount of time an inmate is allowed to use the telephone.
Needs and Benefits
It is the policy of DOCS to help protect the public from unwanted contact from inmates who may be abusing their correspondence and telephone privileges. The repeal of section 723.3(d)(2)–(4) and adoption of a new section 723.3(d)(2)–(4) references a revised Departmental Form 3402 which better documents a request by a member of the public not to be contacted by a specific inmate through correspondence or by telephone. A copy of the form is maintained in the inmate's file.
Amendment of 723.3(e)(2) requires victims of an inmate to be placed on the negative correspondence and telephone list and Departmental Form 3402 to be completed and filed.
Amendments of sections 723.3(e)(3) and 723.5(c)(2) prohibits an inmate from contacting any person who is listed on an active court order of protection against the inmate, requires the inmate to be added to the negative correspondence and telephone list, and Departmental Form 3402 to be completed and filed.
Amendment of section 723.3(e)(8) is a technical change since toll-free telephone numbers are no longer just 800 numbers. Inmates are still prohibited from ordering goods and services from private vendors and conducting business-related activities by telephone.
Amendment of section 723.5(b)(6), the repeal of section 723.5(d)(1)–(6), and amendment of section 723.5(d) are technical changes that correct the current telephone access and warning system available to inmates. The time warning system and inmate access and dialing procedure may change occasionally based upon the vendor providing telephone services and their program. Inmates are provided this information upon their admission into DOCS and the current written procedure is available for review in the departmental directive on inmate telephone calls which inmates may access through inmate libraries and the public may access on the DOCS website listed in the amended section 723.5(d).
Costs
a. To regulated parties: None.
b. To agency, the state and local governments: None.
c. Source of information: Department Budget staff.
Local Government Mandates
There are no new mandates imposed upon local governments by these proposals. The proposed amendments do not apply to local governments.
Paperwork
There are no new reports, forms or paperwork that would be required as a result of amending these rules. Departmental Form 3402, as cited in these rules, already exists and was revised to be more efficient. The referral to the DOCS website and departmental directive referenced in amended section 723.5(d) already exists and is currently available to the public at this time.
Duplication
These proposed amendments do not duplicate any existing State or Federal requirement.
Alternatives
No alternatives are considered feasible. Utilizing the revised form as prescribed better documents that the inmate was directed not to contact the requestor and continued attempts may result in disciplinary actions.
Federal Standards
There are no minimum standards of the Federal government for this or similar subject area.
Compliance Schedule
The Department of Correctional Services will achieve compliance with the proposed rules immediately.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
A regulatory flexibility analysis is not required for this proposal since it will not impose any adverse economic impact or reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements on small businesses or local governments. These proposals merely improves the recording and documentation by DOCS staff of requests from the public not to be contacted by specific inmates, prohibit inmates from contacting their victims or people who have active court orders of protection, and update the phone access procedures for inmates.
Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
A rural area flexibility analysis is not required for this proposal since it will not impose any adverse economic impact or reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements on rural areas. These proposals merely improves the recording and documentation by DOCS staff of requests from the public not to be contacted by specific inmates, prohibits inmates from contacting their victims or people who have active court orders of protection, and updates the phone access procedures for inmates.
Job Impact Statement
A job impact statement is not submitted because these proposed rules will have no adverse impact on jobs or employment opportunities. These proposals merely improve the recording and documentation by DOCS staff of requests from the public not to be contacted by specific inmates, provides information about the Office of Victim Services to individuals requesting to be placed on an inmate's negative correspondence and telephone list, better identifies contraband and its disposition, and more clearly specifies the amount of personal postage that will be advanced to an inmate.
