Montana Code 53-30-153. Telephone account requirements for state prisons — protected accounts — disclosure required — rulemaking — definitions
53-30-153. (Temporary) Telephone account requirements for state prisons — protected accounts — disclosure required — rulemaking — definitions. (1) A state prison that contracts with a telecommunications service provider to provide telecommunications services for inmates shall, to the extent feasible, contract with a telecommunications service provider to provide communications services for inmates that:
Terms Used In Montana Code 53-30-153
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- state prison: means :
(1)a state penal or correctional institution whose primary function is to provide for the custody, treatment, training, and rehabilitation of adult criminal offenders;
(2)a state penal or correctional facility portion of a Montana regional correctional facility;
(3)a detention center, a state penal facility, or a correctional facility in another jurisdiction detaining Montana inmates pursuant to 53-30-106;
(4)a private correctional facility or penal facility licensed by the department of corrections or a private correctional facility or penal facility portion of a Montana regional correctional facility licensed by the department of corrections; or
(5)a combination of the facilities listed in this section. See Montana Code 53-30-101
- Usage: means a reasonable and lawful public custom concerning transactions of the same nature as those which are to be affected thereby, existing at the place where the obligation is to be performed, and either known to the parties or so well established, general, and uniform that the parties must be presumed to have acted with reference thereto. See Montana Code 1-1-206
(a)provides public safety precautions required by the department of corrections;
(b)prohibits expiration of prepaid minutes or charges;
(c)does not charge additional usage or dormancy fees;
(d)does not charge excessive intrastate fees that are greater than 10 cents a minute;
(e)does not require monthly usage fees; and
(f)allows rollover of unused, prepaid minutes into the next month unless the inmate for whom the account was set up is no longer able to use the telephone account, whether for disciplinary reasons or other reasons specified by department rule. No refund is required for unexpired minutes subject to this subsection (1)(f).
(2)Every contract entered into by a state prison for communications services under subsection (1) must require the telecommunications service provider to notify the purchaser of a prepaid telephone account of any fees or refunds that are available for unused minutes on a prepaid telephone card and mail the refund to the purchaser’s address of record.
(3)The department of corrections has rulemaking authority to implement this section and shall notify the public service commission of the allowable rate that a telecommunications service provider may charge for intrastate calls under contract with the department of corrections.
(4)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)”Prepaid telephone account” means a system, whether purchased as a calling card or set up as an account with a telecommunications service provider, to provide telephonic connections in which the purchaser pays for minutes prior to use. The term does not include a lifeline account, defined under 47 C.F.R. § 54.401, for which a telecommunications carrier receives universal service support.
(b)”State prison” has the meaning provided in 53-30-101(3)(c)(i) through (3)(c)(iii) and (3)(c)(v).
(c)”Telecommunications service provider” has the meaning provided for “operator service provider” in 69-3-1102.