PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Christopher Leon Johnson on Intro 825
1:49:03
ยท
130 sec
Christopher Leon Johnson testifies in support of Intro 825, which aims to ensure detainees receive remaining commissary funds upon release. He suggests amendments to the bill, including the use of credit and debit cards instead of checks, and removing the cap on the amount of money that can be returned.
- Proposes using credit/debit cards with purchase-only restrictions to prevent fraud and identity theft
- Suggests lifting the $200 cap to an unlimited amount with a time limit for spending
- Recommends implementing a tracking system for purchases made with these cards for data collection purposes
Christopher Leon Johnson
1:49:03
Good afternoon.
1:49:04
My name is Christopher Leon Johnson.
1:49:06
I'm speaking on, support intro 825.
1:49:11
I'll explain why.
1:49:11
Sandy, chair Sandy, posted another bill.
1:49:14
I saw the bill.
1:49:16
But I request that you, as a chair, talk to your committee council to amend that bill to add credit cards and debit cards that only could be used for purchases only.
1:49:29
No ATM withdrawals.
1:49:31
Not only you have to amend the bill to to lift the cap from 200, you need to lift the cap to lift it to the unlimited amount of money, and you gotta give them a certain amount of data to spend the money.
1:49:40
After that, it gets, sent back to the DOC, like, let's say, about 90 days to spend the money.
1:49:49
These it should be with debit cards, and credit cards instead of just checks because the problem with checks is that there's a lot of check fraud these days.
1:49:57
There's a lot of people you don't know who work for the postal service that steals checks.
1:50:01
They know that the former incarcerated mem and and and I don't know if the new word is there because the city council awoke.
1:50:07
We don't know what to say, but formerly incarcerated individuals are so vulnerable to deaf identity deaf identity fraud because majority of the time, they don't they live in they not they're homeless and stuff like that, and they have no legal their address might not be the address that's on file.
1:50:21
They have a big bonability of getting their, check stolen.
1:50:27
So it shouldn't be issued by check unless it's a pickup at the at the location they was, arrested at Rikers Island.
1:50:36
Or you send out a, a check.
1:50:40
I mean, put it on a credit card like how when you turn guns to the DA's office, you get, like, a a a a bank card that could only be used inside, only be used for, purchases on, like buying food and stuff like that with the with the tracking with tracking so you know what they're buying.
1:50:59
We could use for data.
1:51:00
You can use for data for later on down the run.
1:51:03
But this bill should be amended.
1:51:04
I support it, but you need to amend the bill for credit card, debit cards, and virtual cards instead of straight checks because identity theft.
1:51:11
Thank you, chair.
1:51:12
Thank you.