Section 3140 - Funds Enclosed in Mail(a) Funds may be mailed to an incarcerated person in the form of a money order, cashier's check, certified check, personal check, or any other negotiable instrument except cash and traveler's checks.(1) The negotiable instrument shall be made payable to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with the incarcerated person's last name and departmental identification number. The sender's first and last name and address, shall be on the face of the negotiable instrument.(2) Negotiable instruments which do not contain the sender's name and address on the instrument's face shall be considered contraband. The incarcerated person shall be notified via a CDCR Form 1819 (Rev. (08/24), Notification of Disapproval for Mail/Packages/Publications, which is incorporated by reference. The negotiable instrument shall be held in the Inmate Trust Office safe pending the final disposition of the negotiable instrument.(3) Negotiable instruments which do not include the incarcerated person's last name and departmental identification number shall be returned to the sender as undeliverable.(4) Funds from other incarcerated persons, supervised persons, or persons listed in subsections 3139(a)(1) through (a)(4) shall be accepted only from approved correspondents, who are immediate family members as defined in section 3000, or who are the parents or legal guardians of the incarcerated person's child.(5) Funds received in the mail shall be removed from the envelope by mailroom staff, and the envelope shall be imprinted with a stamp that reads "Funds Enclosed." The date, amount, and initials of the person processing the funds shall be recorded on the envelope before it is forwarded to the incarcerated person. The stamped envelope is the incarcerated person's receipt for the funds.(6) Cash received in incoming mail shall be returned to the sender. Mailroom staff shall notify the incarcerated person in writing via a CDCR Form 1819 (Rev. (08/24), informing them that cash was received and will be returned to the sender. The envelope containing the cash and a copy of the completed CDCR Form 1819 (Rev. (08/24), shall be forwarded to the Trust Office to be returned to the sender.(7) Mailroom staff shall arrange the day's remittances in numerical order. The remittances shall be listed in sequence on the report of collections. This report shall include each sender's name, incarcerated person's name, departmental identification number, type of payment, amount, and the total received. The report and remittances shall be delivered to the Incarcerated Person Trust Office.(b) Generally, incarcerated persons are not eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks from the Social Security Administration, Veteran Affairs Benefits, or welfare checks from the California Department of Social Services or County Welfare agencies. Depending upon their eligibility, incarcerated persons may be eligible to receive tax refund checks.(1) A representative shall be appointed by the Associate Warden, Business Services, to assist outside agencies in determining an incarcerated person's eligibility.(2) Mailroom staff shall deliver all received SSI, Veteran Affairs Benefits, welfare, and tax refund checks to the Incarcerated Person Trust Office. The Accounting Officer shall notify the institution representative that checks are being held pending determination of eligibility of the incarcerated persons to receive the checks. The institution representative shall notify the appropriate agency.(3) Unauthorized checks shall be returned to the appropriate agency.(c) When a negotiable instrument is received for an incarcerated person who is deceased or discharged from CDCR, the check and envelope shall be returned to the sender with documentation of the incarcerated person being deceased or discharged. (1) If an incarcerated person has been transferred to another institution, the negotiable instrument shall be forwarded to the receiving institution mailroom for processing, including a note requesting the incarcerated person to notify the sender of their change of address.(2) Negotiable instruments received for incarcerated persons who have paroled shall be forwarded to the appropriate field office. If the individual is no longer within the jurisdiction of the department or the individual's location is unknown, the negotiable instrument shall be returned to the sender.(d) Funds shall not be released for spending by the incarcerated person for thirty (30) days from the date of deposit into the Incarcerated Person Trust Account and must have cleared the bank upon which they were drawn. When any negotiable instrument is received, the face of the envelope in which the funds were received shall be imprinted with a stamp indicating the funds have been accepted at this time. This stamp is not intended to indicate that the funds are immediately available for incarcerated person use, but only that the funds were accepted for processing by the department.(e) No foreign currency shall be accepted. If foreign currency is received, the entire envelope and its contents shall be returned to sender with a pre-printed notice which states foreign currency is unauthorized. The incarcerated person shall be notified via a CDCR Form 1819 (Rev. (08/24).Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 15, § 3140
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Section 2601, Penal Code.
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Section 2601, Penal Code.
1. Renumbering of former section 3140 to subsection 3139(j) and new section 3140 filed 7-17-2008; operative 7-17-2008 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2008, No. 29).
2. Amendment of subsection (d) filed 6-27-2011 as an emergency pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3(a)(2); operative 6-27-2011 (Register 2011, No. 26). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3(a)(1), a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 12-5-2011 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 6-27-2011 order, including further amendment of subsection (d), transmitted to OAL 11-21-2011 and filed 1-5-2012 (Register 2012, No. 1).
4. Amendment of subsections (a) and (a)(1), new subsection (a)(5), subsection renumbering and amendment of subsection (d) filed 11-14-2016; operative 1/1/2017 (Register 2016, No. 47).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).
6. Amendment of section heading and section filed 11-21-2024; operative 11/21/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2024, No. 47).