TRENTON – Phone rates for inmates calling family members have fallen, the Corrections Department head said Thursday to a Budget Committee.
In response to a question from Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, of Ewing, who said phone bills tended to be expensive, DOC Commissioner Gary Lanigan said the surcharges have been reduced.
At Thursday’s Assembly Budget hearing, he said it now costs inmates 33 cents a minute.
As little as a year ago, a 5-minute call could cost $15, he said.
Upon learning about the new rate, Watson Coleman said that while the new rate may not be lowered enough, “I can see perhaps it’s better.”
