Revises provisions relating to offenders. (BDR 16-709)

EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on May 26, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 323

- *SB323_R1*

SENATE BILL NO. 323–SENATORS SCHEIBLE, CRUZ-CRAWFORD;
DOÑATE, NGUYEN AND TAYLOR

MARCH 11, 2025
____________

Referred to Committee on Judiciary

SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to offenders.
(BDR 16-709)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.

~

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to offenders; providing for the establishment of a
program to provide telephone calls free of charge between
certain offenders and the families of such offenders;
revising provisions relating to charges for audio and video
calls made by or to offenders; making an appropriation;
and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Senate Bill No. 234 of the 2023 Legislative Session (S.B. 234) required the 1
Department of Corrections to establish and administer a pilot program to p rovide 2
telephone calls between offenders in the custody of the Department who have been 3
assigned to Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center and the families of 4
such offenders. S.B. 234 required the program to: (1) be designed to facilitate and 5
encourage a continuing relationship between the offenders and the families of such 6
offenders; and (2) provide each offender with a 15 -minute telephone call each day 7
to a member of the family of the offender free of charge. S.B. 234 expired by 8
limitation on Januar y 1, 2025. (Chapter 443, Statutes of Nevada 2023, at page 9
2727) Section 1 of this bill codifies and makes permanent the pilot program 10
established pursuant to S.B. 234. Section 2.5 of this bill makes an appropriation to 11
the Department to carry out the provisions of section 1. 12
Existing law requires the Director of the Department, with the approval of the 13
Board of State Prison Commissioners, to establish by regulation criteria for a 14
reasonable deduction from money credited to the account of an offender to rep ay 15
the cost incurred by the Department on behalf of the offender for telephone calls 16
charged to the Department. (NRS 209.246) Existing federal regulations require a 17
provider of Incarcerated People’s Communication Services (IPCS) to make a 18
reasonable effort to refund money deposited into an IPCS Account under certain 19
circumstances. (47 C.F.R. § 64.6130) Section 2 of this bill: (1) prohibits the 20
Department from charging an offender more than the actual cost to the Department 21
for any audio or video calls made by or to an offender; and (2) requires that if the 22

– 2 –

- *SB323_R1*
Department enters into a contract with a provider of communications services to 23
provide communications services to offenders, the contract must include, without 24
limitation, a provision requiring the provid er to comply with the provisions of 25
federal regulations relating to the return of money deposited into an IPCS Account, 26
as those regulations existed on January 1, 2025. 27

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Chapter 209 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
1. The Department shall establish and administer a program 3
to provide telephone calls between offenders in the custody of the 4
Department who have been assigned to Florence M cClure 5
Women’s Correctional Center and the families of such offenders. 6
The program must: 7
(a) Be designed to facilitate and encourage a continuing 8
relationship between the offenders and the families of such 9
offenders; and 10
(b) Provide each offender with a 15-minute telephone call 11
each day to a member of the family of the offender free of charge. 12
2. The Department may adopt regulations to administer the 13
provisions of this section. 14
3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an 15
offender to communicate with a person if the offender is otherwise 16
prohibited by law or court order from communicating with the 17
person. 18
Sec. 2. NRS 209.246 is hereby amended to read as follows: 19
209.246 1. Except as otherwise provide d in this section, the 20
Director shall, with the approval of the Board, establish by 21
regulation criteria for a reasonable deduction from money credited 22
to the account of an offender to: 23
(a) Repay the cost of: 24
(1) State property willfully damaged, destroyed or lost by the 25
offender during his or her incarceration. 26
(2) Medical examination, diagnosis or treatment for injuries: 27
(I) Inflicted by the offender upon himself or herself or 28
other offenders; or 29
(II) Which occur during voluntary recreational activities. 30
(3) Searching for and apprehending the offender when he or 31
she escapes or attempts to escape. 32
(4) Quelling any riot or other disturbance in which the 33
offender is unlawfully involved. 34
(5) Providing a funeral for an offender. 35

– 3 –

- *SB323_R1*
(6) Providing an offender with clothing, transportation and 1
money upon his or her release from prison pursuant to 2
NRS 209.511. 3
(7) Transportation of an offender pursuant to a court order in 4
cases other than a criminal prosecution, a proceeding for 5
postconviction relief involving the offender or a proceeding in 6
which the offender has challenged the conditions of his or her 7
confinement. 8
(8) Monetary sanctions imposed under the code of penal 9
discipline adopted by the Department. 10
(b) Defray, as determined by the Director, a portion of the costs 11
paid by the Department for medical care for the offender, including, 12
but not limited to: 13
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2) of 14
paragraph (a) and subsection 2, expenses for medical or dental care, 15
prosthetic devices and pharmaceutical items; and 16
(2) Expenses for prescribed medicine and supplies. 17
(c) Repay the costs incurred by the Department on behalf of the 18
offender for: 19
(1) Postage for personal items and items related to litigation . 20
[;] 21
(2) Photocopying of personal documents and legal 22
documents, for which the offender must be charged a reasonable fee 23
not to exceed the actual costs incurred by the Department . [;] 24
(3) Legal supplies . [;] 25
(4) [Telephone] Except as otherwise provided in section 1 of 26
this act, audio or video calls charged to the Department . [;] The 27
Department shall not charge an offender more than the actual 28
cost to the Department for any audio or video calls made by or to 29
an offender. If t he Department enters into a contract with a 30
provider of communications services to provide communications 31
services to offenders, the contract must include, without limitation, 32
a provision requiring the provider to comply with the provisions of 33
47 C.F.R. § 64.6130 relating to the return of money deposited into 34
an IPCS Account, as that section existed on January 1, 2025. 35
(5) Charges relating to checks returned for insufficient funds 36
and checks for which an order to stop payment has been made . [;] 37
(6) Items related to the offender’s work, including, but not 38
limited to, clothing, shoes, boots, tools, a driver’s license or 39
identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, a 40
work card issued by a law enforcement agency and a health card . [; 41
and] 42
(7) The replacement of an identification card or prepaid 43
ticket for bus transportation issued to the offender by the 44
Department. 45

– 4 –

- *SB323_R1*
(d) Repay any cost to the State of Nevada or any agency or 1
political subdivision thereof that is incurred in defending the State 2
against an action filed by an offender in federal court alleging a 3
violation of his or her civil rights which is determined by the court 4
to be frivolous. 5
2. The Director shall not adopt any regulations which authorize 6
a deduction from money credit ed to the account of an offender for 7
the payment of any copayment for any routine or emergency 8
medical care provided to an offender. 9
3. All money collected pursuant to this section must be 10
deposited in the appropriate account in the State General Fund f or 11
reimbursement of the related expenditure. 12
Sec. 2.5. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State 13
General Fund to the Department of Corrections to carry out the 14
provisions of section 1 of this act the following sums: 15
For the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 .................................. $246,046 16
For the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 .................................. $253,602 17
2. Any balance of the sums appropriated by subsection 1 18
remaining at the end of the respective fiscal years must not be 19
committed for expenditure after June 30 of the respecti ve fiscal 20
years by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity 21
to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise 22
transferred in any manner, and any portion of the appropriated 23
money remaining must not be spent for any purpose af ter 24
September 18, 2026, and September 17, 2027, respectively, by 25
either the entity to which the money was appropriated or the entity 26
to which the money was subsequently granted or transferred, and 27
must be reverted to the State General Fund on or before 28
September 18, 2026, and September 17, 2027, respectively. 29
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 30

H