BILL REQ. #:  S-3658.1 

Read first time 01/19/2004.   Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to selection of telephone calling systems for inmates in state correctional facilities; amending RCW 9.73.095; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the current telephone service for inmate calls from department of corrections facilities is based on outdated technology that provides neither the most secure nor the most accountable system available and is provided at a high cost to inmate families. The legislature, in budget provisions, has required the secretary of corrections to investigate other systems as inmate telephone service contracts came due for renewal. The legislature now finds that the current statute prevents the secretary of corrections from using systems that provide greater security, more inmate accountability, and lower costs. Therefore, the legislature intends to remove this barrier while retaining the intent of the statute to provide safe, accountable, and affordable telephone services.

Sec. 2   RCW 9.73.095 and 1998 c 217 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) RCW 9.73.030 through 9.73.080 and 9.73.260 shall not apply to employees of the department of corrections in the following instances: Intercepting, recording, or divulging any telephone calls from an inmate or resident of a state correctional facility; or intercepting, recording, or divulging any monitored nontelephonic conversations in inmate living units, cells, rooms, dormitories, and common spaces where inmates may be present. For the purposes of this section, "state correctional facility" means a facility that is under the control and authority of the department of corrections, and used for the incarceration, treatment, or rehabilitation of convicted felons.
     (2)(a) All personal calls made by inmates shall be ((collect calls only)) made using a calling system approved by the secretary of corrections. The calls ((will)) shall be "operator announcement" type calls. The operator shall notify the receiver of the call that the call is coming from a prison inmate, and that it will be recorded and may be monitored.
     (b) The secretary of corrections may approve one or more calling systems including collect calls, prepaid calls, pin number calls, debit card or credit card calls, or other calling systems that also provide accurate accounting methods and accurate identification of both the offender making the call and the number called. Any system selected must be at least as secure as the system it is intended to replace and provide the department of corrections with the ability to control and monitor calls and make "operator announcements." In approving one or more systems, the secretary of corrections shall consider the safety of the public, the ability to reduce telephone fraud, and the ability of offender families to select a low-cost option.
     (3) The department of corrections shall adhere to the following procedures and restrictions when intercepting, recording, or divulging any telephone calls from an inmate or resident of a state correctional facility as provided for by this section. The department shall also adhere to the following procedures and restrictions when intercepting, recording, or divulging any monitored nontelephonic conversations in inmate living units, cells, rooms, dormitories, and common spaces where inmates may be present:
     (a) Unless otherwise provided for in this section, after intercepting or recording any conversation, only the superintendent and his or her designee shall have access to that recording.
     (b) The contents of any intercepted and recorded conversation shall be divulged only as is necessary to safeguard the orderly operation of the correctional facility, in response to a court order, or in the prosecution or investigation of any crime.
     (c) All conversations that are recorded under this section, unless being used in the ongoing investigation or prosecution of a crime, or as is necessary to assure the orderly operation of the correctional facility, shall be destroyed one year after the intercepting and recording.
     (4) So as to safeguard the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege, the department of corrections shall not intercept, record, or divulge any conversation between an inmate or resident and an attorney. The department shall develop policies and procedures to implement this section. The department's policies and procedures implemented under this section shall also recognize the privileged nature of confessions made by an offender to a member of the clergy or a priest in his or her professional character, in the course of discipline enjoined by the church to which he or she belongs as provided in RCW 5.60.060(3).
     (5) The department shall notify in writing all inmates, residents, and personnel of state correctional facilities that their nontelephonic conversations may be intercepted, recorded, or divulged in accordance with the provisions of this section.
     (6) The department shall notify all visitors to state correctional facilities who may enter inmate living units, cells, rooms, dormitories, or common spaces where inmates may be present, that their conversations may intercepted, recorded, or divulged in accordance with the provisions of this section. The notice required under this subsection shall be accomplished through a means no less conspicuous than a general posting in a location likely to be seen by visitors entering the facility.