Jails and juvenile facilities: communications, information, and commissary services: contracts.

(1) Existing law allows the sheriff of each county to operate a store in connection with the county jail to sell confectionary, tobacco, postage and writing materials, and toilet articles to incarcerated people in the jail. Existing law allows the sheriff to fix the sale prices of the articles offered for sale at the store. Existing law requires profits from the store to be deposited in the inmate welfare fund and requires the fund to be used primarily for the benefit, education, and welfare of incarcerated people. This bill would prohibit the items in the store from being offered at a price in excess of 10% above the cost paid to the vendor supplying the article. The bill would rename the inmate welfare fund the incarcerated peoples' welfare fund and would require money in the fund to be expended solely for the benefit, education, and welfare of incarcerated people. The bill would require articles offered for sale at the store to only be available for purchase by incarcerated people and not staff of the jail. (2) Existing law imposes specified procedural and substantive content requirements on contracts entered into by local agencies, including cities and counties. This bill would cap telephone and other service rates and would prohibit communication or information service providers from imposing and collecting specified fees.