Funding for free prison phone calls makes it into approved Florida FY 2026 budget

Advocates for providing inmates in Florida prisons with one free 15-minute phone call if they display good behavior say they are cautiously optimistic that the proposal, included in the $115 billion budget passed by the Legislature earlier this week, will survive Gov. DeSantis’ veto pen.

The $1 million proposal was included in the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice budget chaired by Okaloosa County Republican state Rep. Patt Maney and Miami-Dade County Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia. Their insertion of the funding comes a year after Ron DeSantis vetoed a $2 million request to continue the program, and two years after an initial $1 million pilot program for free calls was enacted.

“Thank you to Chair Garcia, Chair Maney, and committee staff for restoring funding for the prison phone calls program,” said Graham Bernstein, who as a member of the Florida Student Policy Forum at the University of Florida researched the idea and brought it to local and state public officials a few years ago.

“OPPAGA (the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability) reports and other evidence shows that this policy reduces recidivism by helping inmates who demonstrate good behavior stay connected with the outside world, saves the families of the incarcerated money, and lowers taxpayer spending on re-incarceration.”

In Florida’s correction system, inmates may only make collect calls, for which vendor ViaPath Technologies charges $13.5 cents a minute. As part of that contract with the Department of Corrections, they are allowed two free five-minute phone calls per month.

As Bernstein notes, independent studies have shown the benefits of allowing inmates to keep in contact with loved ones. A 2006 report from the Urban Institute found that within five years of release, incarcerated people with strong family connections were 25% more likely to cease criminal activity. A 2005 report on incarcerated mothers’ contact with children found that telephone calls, even more than physical visits, related to positive maternal perceptions of relationships with children.

“We should not punish the family for the sins of a single family member,” said Konstantin Nakov, who worked with Bernstein on researching the high costs of prison phone calls while at the Florida Student Policy Forum. “Children should not be punished for the crime their parent committed. This appropriation aims to reconnect a bond that may have been severed by incarceration by assuring that the families of those who are in prison are not drawn into poverty to make phone calls.”

Karen Stuckey is a prison reform advocate. She worked with then Broward County Democratic state Sen. Lauren Book on a proposal during the 2022 session requiring the Department of Corrections to provide inmates phone calls free of charge. Her bill didn’t acquire a House sponsor and died without being heard in any committee.

“Access to a parent in prison is difficult, high price of email, phone calls and travel, yet we know how important it is for children to have a bond with their parents,” said Stuckey, who had to deal at one point in her life with escalating phone bills as both her son and husband had been incarcerated in Florida prisons.

“We’ve had productive discussions with the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget on this matter and hope that the Governor will support the Legislature’s decision,” Bernstein said.

The budget sent to his desk is slated to begin July 1, the start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, although he is expected to veto certain line items before then.