KP-0495

Summary

Revenue from phone cards sales derived from the exercise of inmate telephone privileges provided under the Texas Commission on Jail Standards’ rule concerning inmate telephone plans must be deposited in the county’s general fund. Revenue derived from the purchase of phone cards as a jail commissary item, bearing no correlation to the provision of inmate telephone privileges, are commissary funds under the exclusive control of the sheriff. It follows that phone card revenue must be deposited in the general fund where the ordering, fulfillment, and fund allocation of phone cards are separate from the commissary operation. The separate treatment of inmate commissary and telephone privileges could result in a situation where some telephone service or item is offered under both privileges.

The Cherokee County Commissioners Court may reinstate the PIN debit system, through its contracting and jail authority, so long as the chosen method complies with the requirements in the Commission’s rule concerning inmate telephone privileges.