Assembly BillIntroduced
A 5945: Permits the use of portable electronic devices for making phone calls as part of the telephone service system made available to incarcerated individuals.
What A 5945 does, verified January 9, 2026
The proposed law aims to provide incarcerated individuals with the ability to make phone calls using portable electronic devices. The law proposes two systems for making phone calls: a prepaid system and a collect call system. In the prepaid system, funds can be deposited into an account to pay for station-to-station calls, while in the collect call system, recipients are billed for the cost of accepted calls. The law also requires the provider of incarcerated individual telephone service to allow recipients to establish an account to deposit funds for collect calls in advance. Wireless calls using portable electronic devices are also allowed, with the department making a reasonable effort to provide these calls free of charge and subject to the same limitations as calls made from telephones.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to correction (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 5945
- What is the current status of A 5945?
- As of January 9, 2026, A 5945 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to correction".
- Did A 5945 pass?
- Not yet. A 5945 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 5945, and where is it now?
- A 5945 was authored by Asm. Erik Dilan with 3 coauthors. Its committee of record is Assembly Correction.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to correction |
| Feb. 25, 2025 | referred to correction |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 25, 2025 · 384 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5945 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DILAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to permitting the use of portable electronic devices for making phone calls by incarcerated individuals The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 623 of the correction law, as 2 amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 2. The department shall make available either a "prepaid" or "collect 5 call" system, or a combination thereof, for telephone service. Under the 6 "prepaid" system, funds may be deposited into an account in order to pay 7 for station-to-station calls, provided that nothing in this subdivision 8 shall require the department to provide or administer a prepaid system. 9 Under a "collect call" system, call recipients are billed for the cost 10 of an accepted telephone call initiated by an incarcerated individual. 11 Under such "collect call" system, the provider of incarcerated individ- 12 ual telephone service, as an additional means of payment, must permit 13 the recipient of incarcerated individual calls to establish an account 14 with such provider in order to deposit funds to pay for such collect 15 calls in advance. The department shall include as part of its telephone 16 service system the ability to make wireless calls utilizing portable 17 tablet devices or other portable electronic devices. Such wireless 18 device calls shall not substitute for regular phone call availability. 19 The department shall make a reasonable effort to provide these wireless 20 calls free of charge. Such wireless calls shall not be subject to high- 21 er costs than calls placed from telephones. The department shall have 22 the same ability to impose limitations on wireless calls for incarcerat- 23 ed individuals as calls placed from telephones. 24 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 25 have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10078-01-5
Text of A 5945 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions