FL Citizens Opposed to Newly Mandated Inmate Banking Fees

To:  Governor Jeb Bush, the Florida State House and Senate, and DOC Secretary James V. Crosby

We the undersigned are opposed to the recent enactment of House Bill 1875, specifically lines 625 through 629 which reads:

625 (1) The Department of Corrections may:
626 (h) Charge an administrative processing fee of up to $6
627 each month to inmates for banking services. Such fees shall be
628 deposited into the department's Grants and Donations Trust Fund
629 and shall be used to offset the cost of the department's


As family and friends of inmates currently housed in Florida prisons, we object to the new banking fees based on our contention that the monies being charged to inmates comes directly from Florida citizens making the fees a redundant taxation on our income. Currently, Florida citizens are afforded free banking from banking institutions and we find it irregular that the state has enacted a bill that charges a fee for inmate banking when its banking institutions do not. As Florida citizens we remained silent concerning all monies accumulated in the past by the Department of Corrections via interest collected from bank accounts set up for inmates while incarcerated in the Florida system. It has become painfully obvious that the interest made from Florida citizen’s monetary assistance to inmates was not enough to suffice Florida’s budget deficit, making the creation of this new amendment a supplemental taxation of our income to be used other than initially intended. We emphatically protest the misuse of our income as a mean to force a “donation” of our monies to the state.

Therefore, we the undersigned reiterate our strong objection to the misuse of our monies and demand reimbursement to said accounts until or unless we are consulted with regard to our acceptance or rejection concerning the forfeiture of said fees to the state.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The FL Citizens Opposed to Newly Mandated Inmate Banking Fees Petition to Governor Jeb Bush, the Florida State House and Senate, and DOC Secretary James V. Crosby was created by Little Ol' Ladies In Tennis Shoes (Lolits) and written by Minister Elayna A. Monts.  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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