Prisons, correctional facilities, and contractors working with those facilities in Massachusetts would be barred from charging incarcerated people more than 3% of the purchase cost for commissary items under a policy included in the state’s pending fiscal 2024 budget.
Advocates in support of the measure said incarcerated people in Massachusetts are often forced to pay for basic necessities like food and hygiene products at commissaries. But not everyone is on board with the plan, which includes language that would bar state and county facilities from receiving commissions or other financial incentives in any contract with a seller, supplier, or vendor for commissary items.
“While the sheriffs recognize the concern regarding commissary commissions, eliminating or reducing these revenues without a separate funding stream would have a significant if not devastating effect on the current programming and re-entry services dedicated to improving successful outcomes for all of the justice-involved population within our facilities,” said Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association.
Prisoners’ Legal Services Senior Attorney Bonita Tenneriello said the average spend has likely increased since the 2018 study and having “minimally adequate” food and toiletries is “hugely expensive” for people who are in prison.
A 2018 study from the Prison Policy Initiative found the average incarcerated person spent about $1,207 a year at commissaries in the state.
“If you’re lucky to have a job you earn pennies an hour and you’re forced to pay a lot of money just to have an adequate diet and basic toiletries,” Tenneriello said.
The ban on financial incentives would effectively end the practice of site commissions, where a contractor gives a portion of the revenue back to the facility. Site commissions have been highly scrutinized in the case of phone calls for prisoners, which could become free under another proposal in the state budget.
Sheriffs said commissary rates are established by the contracted vendor, not the sheriff’s offices which incur the cost of delivering services. Many local sheriffs have inked contracts with national commissary providers, who they say have more purchasing power than the 14 county sheriffs in Massachusetts.
A 3% commission cap, sheriffs said, may prompt national vendors not to contract with local sheriffs. The sheriff’s association said that could lead to fewer commissary options for incarcerated individuals and a potential “climate issue” within facilities.
“The Sheriffs have requested a July 1, 2024 implementation date, which would allow time to address and navigate the complexities of implementation, contract renegotiation as well as issues such as the revenue path to support the critically important programming to improve outcomes upon reentry,” Cocchi said in a statement.
But Tenneriello said site commissions are “basically the consumer paying to subsidize the correctional agency.”
“Nationally, … site commissions and commissaries inflate prices by like 20 to 50%, or even more in some cases,” Tenneriello said. “Keeping those site commissions to 3% is vitally important in terms of reducing some of the hardship on people who are trying to get by on commissary food and toiletries.”
The Massachusetts Department of Correction contracts with Keefe Commissary Network to provide inmate commissary items.
A spokesperson for parent company Keefe Group did not return a request for comment.
Prisons and correctional facilities would also need to offer “gender-affirming” and “culturally appropriate” items for everyone in their custody under the proposed language in the state budget.
Tenneriello said she has transgender clients who cannot get the products they need.
“They are often in transition and they can’t appropriate cosmetics or clothing, or toiletries, and so this is something wonderful for them,” Tenneriello said.
The Legislature sent Gov. Maura Healey the fiscal 2024 budget on July 31. She has 10 days to act on it.