HR0088 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0088 LRB098 10568 HLH 41265 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Inmate telephone services are provided to inmates of corrections facilities operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections (Department) so inmates can communicate with family members, friends and legal counsel; these services are provided through telephone equipment placed in restricted areas at correctional facilities that are accessible to inmates; inmates are allowed to use the telephone equipment only for pre-paid collect or post-paid collect operator assisted calls with members of the public at telephones located outside the facilities; the family members and friends of inmates are responsible for paying for the calls from their loved ones; and

WHEREAS, The Department has no incentive to select the telephone company that offers the lowest rates to allow inmates access to telephone use; rather, the Department has an incentive to reap the most profit by selecting the telephone company that provides the highest commission; and

WHEREAS, Exorbitant telephone rates are not only bad for incarcerated persons and their families, but are bad for society at large, in that they reduce incarcerated persons' ability to communicate with family, while family contact has been consistently shown to lower recidivism; exclusive contracts create state-sanctioned monopolies that prey upon people who are least able to select alternative methods of communication and who are least able to sustain additional expenses; and

WHEREAS, It is difficult for many families of incarcerated persons to pay for phone calls because people in prison often come from low-income households; a study of people recently released from Illinois prisons found that the price of phone calls from prison was one of the two most significant barriers to maintaining family contact during their incarceration; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is one of 42 states in the United States that selects an inmate telephone service vendor based on the percentage of revenue the State will receive from that vendor; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Central Management Services, on behalf of the Department of Corrections, posted a solicitation for an Invitation for Bid (#12-67094) for inmate telephone services at all State correctional facilities in early 2012. IFB 12-67094 required each bidder to submit the following:

1. the rate charged for each call;

2. the fees or surcharges charged;

3. the percent of revenues the bidder would pay to the Department of Corrections as a commission; and

WHEREAS, The bid evaluation formula was structured to award the highest number of points to the bidder that submitted the highest commission to the Department of Corrections; the commission rate comprised 55% of the points awarded in the solicitation; and

WHEREAS, The State has incentive to award the contract to the highest bidder because it receives the largest commission from the highest bidder; and

WHEREAS, Three companies responded to IFB #12-67094, and on June 27, 2012, the Department of Central Management Services issued their intent to award the contract to Securus Technologies, a Texas based company; and

WHEREAS, Consolidated Communications Public Services, an Illinois based company, is the current provider of inmate telephone services for the Department of Corrections; Consolidated Communication Public Services has provided telephone services to the Department of Corrections since 2002; and

WHEREAS, Consolidated Communication Public Services filed a protest on May 31, 2012 with the Chief Procurement Officer of General Services; and

WHEREAS, Consolidated Communication Public Services protest alleged that the per call rate contained in the bid response submitted by Securus Technologies was above the Illinois Commerce Commission established caps on rates and charges under 83 111 Adm. Code Sections 770.40(c) and (e); and

WHEREAS, The Chief Procurement Officer denied the protest and the Department of Central Management Services awarded the contract to Securus Technologies. However, in the Chief Procurement Officer's Final Determination letter to the attorney for Consolidated Communication Public Services on June 25, 2013, the Chief Procurement Officer stated the following:

"The key inquiry here is whether the services at issue fall within the regulatory jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission. If they do, and they are not otherwise exempt, then the restrictions of Section 770 apply and the award must be rescinded."

Consolidated Communication Public Services also filed a Verified Petition for a Declaratory Ruling with the Illinois Commerce Commission on July 3. 2012; Consolidated Communication Public Services protest alleged that the per call rate submitted by Securus Technologies above the Illinois Commerce Commission established caps on rates and charges under 83 Ill Adm. Code Sections 770.40(c) and (e); and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Commerce Commission's Administrative Law Judge and Illinois Commerce Commission's Staff issued a recommendation to the Commission and agreed that Securus' per call rate of $4.10 exceeded the rate caps established by Illinois Commerce Commission rules and regulations. This matter is pending before the Commission; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct a management audit of the State's procurement of inmate telephone service vendors for the Department of Corrections' inmate telephone service program; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not limited to the following determinations:

Whether all aspects of the procurement process were conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules, regulations and policies;

Whether the evaluative criteria guiding the selection by the Department of Central Management Services of vendors were adequate and uniformly applied to competing vendors;

Whether decisions concerning the selection of vendors and resolution of protests are adequately supported and documented;

Whether the bids submitted by vendors and evaluated by the Department of Central Management Services were in compliance with the terms set forth in the solicitation document; and

Whether or not the Department of Central Management Services in the course of the procurement process or resolution of the protests, took into consideration the cost impact the solicitation might place on the family members, friends and general public who are responsible for paying for the calls; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations upon completion to the General Assembly.