Senate BillPassed first housePenal
SB 498: Incarcerated persons: communications.
What SB 498 does, verified August 15, 2026
This bill would require the department of corrections and rehabilitation to provide inmates with electronic messaging services, in addition to voice communication services, as long as they are authorized to use a device for these services. The department must provide these services free of charge to the inmate and the recipient of the communication. Staff at the facility are prohibited from disconnecting inmate communications based solely on the duration of the call.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
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| Aug. 13, 2026 | August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. |
| Jun. 24, 2026 | June 24 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jun. 09, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 9). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 09, 2026 | Coauthors revised. |
| Apr. 06, 2026 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. |