In 2021, Connecticut set a landmark precedent by becoming the first state to offer free phone calls for incarcerated individuals. However, four years later, Governor Ned Lamont’s budget proposal, which calls for cuts in funding for free texts and emails in prisons, now threatens to reverse that milestone.

Under the 2021 law, the state is prohibited from profiting from prison communications. For the proposal to take effect and eliminate free electronic messaging, the law would have to be amended so that incarcerated individuals could be charged for these services.

State Representative Robyn Porter, a co-sponsor of the law, told the News, "This is a glaring contradiction and a blow to the free phone call law we enacted in 2021." She argued that rather than cutting free texts and emails, the focus should be on policies that promote successful reintegration. Such policies would reduce long-term costs for the Department of Correction by keeping people out of prison.

David Bednarz, a spokesperson for Governor Lamont, explained in a letter to the News that the budget proposal intends to shift the costs of messaging on tablets to the incarcerated, although phone calls would remain free. He confirmed that Lamont hopes to amend the 2021 law to align it with the new proposal.

Porter, whose son was once incarcerated, strongly criticized the proposed cuts to free electronic messaging. She stressed that complimentary texts and emails are vital for maintaining family connections during incarceration, a key factor in reducing recidivism. Reflecting on her experience, she recalled, "We wrote letters, sent cards when we could not write letters, visited him, and ensured there was money on his account. Our goal was to help him serve his time rather than let time serve him."

She also noted that many incarcerated individuals prefer texting and emailing over phone calls, as the latter are recorded and monitored by correctional staff. Porter warned that eliminating free texts and emails could increase operational costs for the state DOC, since staff might need to process a higher volume of letters and cards.

Miriam Gohara, a Yale Law School professor who represents incarcerated individuals in both state and federal prisons, echoed these concerns. After learning of Lamont’s proposal, a family member of one of her clients expressed worries that the unreliability of phone calls, compared to electronic messaging, would further limit communication with loved ones. In addition, a formerly incarcerated person told the News that before 2021, steep communication costs forced him to rely on family members for financial support.

Porter remains skeptical that this portion of Lamont’s budget proposal will pass the state legislature. Similarly, Bianca Tylek, the executive director of Worth Rises—the nonprofit that helped secure the 2021 free phone call law—is confident that the proposal will not succeed. "We have strong indications from senior legislators and those who were instrumental in fighting for this bill in 2021 that this proposal will not move forward," Tylek said.

Tylek urged the state to reconsider its contract with the prison telecom vendor Securus Technologies instead of completely eliminating free messaging. The current three-year contract, which runs through August 2026, charges $30 per incarcerated individual each month for phone calls and $15 per person for emails. Worth Rises, which has assisted other states in establishing free communication models, argues that Connecticut is paying too much for electronic messaging services and should reopen negotiations to secure better rates. She pointed out that when free phone calls were introduced in 2021, Connecticut quickly became one of the states with the highest prison call rates—a fact that shocked the commissioner in 2019 and 2020 and underscored the shortcomings in previous negotiations.

Governor Lamont announced his $55.2 billion biennial budget proposal on February 10, setting the stage for critical discussions about maintaining access to essential communication for incarcerated individuals.