Senator Josh Becker

1021 O Street, Suite 7250

Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: Support for SB 474 (Becker) to Eliminate Markups on Canteen Items from a Systems-Impacted Individual 

Dear Senator Becker,

I am a directly impacted person who has a loved one inside and/or is formerly incarcerated. 

I am in strong support of SB 474 by Senator Becker, also known as the BASIC(s) Act (Basic, Affordable Supplies for Incarcerated Californians). This important bill would eliminate excessive mark-ups on items sold at canteens across California state prisons, relieving tens of thousands of impoverished Californians from the burden of purchasing overpriced essential items. These savings will help to establish more financial stability for families impacted by incarceration, and ultimately strengthen community health, public safety and re-entry outcomes. 

Prison canteens are a critical resource for incarcerated people, who often rely on canteen purchases in order to meet their basic needs. Research shows that the majority of canteen spending is on food and essential hygiene items that incarcerated people do not have adequate access to, and that many incarcerated people rely on canteen food for a significant portion of their daily caloric intake. Commonly purchased items aside from food include toilet paper, soap, shower sandals, menstrual products and over-the-counter medical supplies. 

In recent years, canteen prices have skyrocketed causing undue financial burden on incarcerated people who rely on canteen purchases for essential goods. According to a 2020 IWF audit report, the average markup across CDCR canteen items was 65% above the price paid to the vendor. Overpriced products sold at CDCR canteens economically drain over 80 million dollars each year from low-income families of color, who are already disproportionately impacted by inflation. In California, the minimum wage for incarcerated people is only eight cents an hour before fees and deductions – meaning it could take an entire month’s wage to afford a single essential item such as toothpaste. In a 2020 report from Impact Justice, three-fifths of the formerly incarcerated people surveyed said they could not afford canteen purchases, and 75% reported that access to food was limited by their own or their family’s finances. Many people reported having to choose between buying food, or going hungry to purchase necessities such as toothpaste, tampons, and ibuprofen. These barriers have only increased since 2020 with the onset of the pandemic and rising inflation rates. 

Incarcerated families and their loved ones are already saddled with copious, justice-related fees, fines, and debt, at the same time that their economic opportunities are diminished. According to the report “Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families”, nearly 2 in 3 families with an incarcerated family member were unable to meet their family’s basic needs – including food and housing – due to the financial burdens of incarceration. Nearly half of the families surveyed were unable to afford the costs associated with a conviction. 

Eliminating mark-ups at CDCR canteens will provide relief to tens of thousands of families who are burdened by the pressures of incarceration and poverty, and allow them to redirect scarce financial resources towards long-term needs and reentry costs. This would represent a step forward for California’s leadership in combating poverty, racial inequity, and mass incarceration, following on the heels of recent, bold reforms in our state to repeal administrative fees in the criminal system (AB 1869) and eliminate fees for prison phone calls (SB 1008). Investing in financial stability for justice-involved families is a critical and evidence-based strategy for improving reentry outcomes, and is an investment in public safety for all Californians. 

For these reasons, I thank you for your authorship of this important bill, and support SB 474 (Becker), the BASIC(s) Act - Basic, Affordable Supplies for Incarcerated Californians. 

Respectfully,