The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
003
:
CARE OF INMATES
(Cite as: 28 V.S.A. § 802a)
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§ 802a. Telephone use; debit and collect call systems
(a) Upon admittance to a correctional facility, the inmate shall within 24 hours be allowed
access to a telephone for outgoing telephone calls at the expense of the inmate.
(b) An inmate shall be allowed easy access in placing collect telephone calls upon admission
to a correctional facility under reasonable conditions determined by the Commissioner,
unless the inmate has been prohibited under provisions of section 853 of this title regarding punishment for a breach of the rules and regulations of the correctional
facility in which an inmate is confined.
(c) When an inmate requests and receives a list of parties approved to receive telephone
calls, the inmate shall be provided the option of using a debit or collect call system
to place such calls. Under the debit system, the inmate shall pay for telephone service
at the time of use, and the cost of such service will be automatically deducted from
an account maintained by the inmate for that purpose.
(d) Any contract to provide telephone services to inmates in State correctional facilities
shall be negotiated and awarded in a manner that provides for the lowest reasonable
cost to inmates, to their families, and to others communicating with inmates. (Added 1995, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 50, eff. May 22, 1996; amended 2001, No. 61, § 79, eff. June 16, 2001.)