Eighth Circuit Asked to Block New FCC Rules Capping Prison Phone Rates and Eliminating Ancillary Fees and Kickbacks
In a petition filed on September 30, 2024, the Republican Attorneys General of 14 states asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to block new rate caps on prison and jail calls that were issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the previous July.
As PLN reported, the new FCC rule limited charges for Incarcerated Persons Calling Services (ICPS) by phone to six cents per minute, with allowances up to 12 cents per minute in smaller lockups where per-call costs are presumed higher. The rule also limited ICPS video call charges to a range of 16 to 25 cents per minute. Importantly, the FCC also eliminated “site commission” kickbacks to prison and jail operators, as well as ancillary fees users were charged for adding funds to phone accounts, receiving paper billing statements, talking to a live agent, making third-party financial transactions and placing a single call. [See: PLN, Oct. 2024, p.1.]
Arkansas Attorney General (AG) Tim Griffin and Indiana AG Todd Rokita led the group of fellow Republican AGs asking the Eighth Circuit to declare the new FCC rules “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion” that was made “in excess of statutory authority.” In a separate statement issued on October 1, 2024, Griffin noted that Arkansas lawmakers had previously voted to require the now-banned kickbacks, using them to shift the cost of some prison programming onto prisoners and their loved ones; he argued that the FCC “can’t dictate to Arkansas prisons how they negotiate cost-sharing agreements” and “can’t arbitrarily and capriciously pre-empt state laws regulating prison operations.”
The kickbacks “go toward covering needed security measures,” Griffin continued, without which he wondered “what would stop inmates from conducting criminal operations over the phone.” If the FCC rules are upheld, he threatened, “prisons may simply discontinue existing communication services, which means inmates won’t be able to make calls at all.” But Griffin offered no data to show how much the state collected in kickbacks or how much it spent on those “needed security measures.” Perhaps he expected to be taken at his word; but as PLN reported, prison telecom giants Securus Technologies and Global Tel*Link argued in a separate suit that they were forced to charge high rates because of high processing costs paid to another firm—costs that later turned out to be far lower than they said. [See: PLN, May 2024, p.32.]
Griffin and Rokita were joined in the suit by fellow Republican AGs Steve Marshall of Alabama; Ashley Moody of Florida; Chris Carr of Georgia; Raúl Labrador of Idaho; Brenna Bird of Iowa; Andrew Bailey of Missouri; Dave Yost of Ohio; Alan Wilson of South Carolina; Marty Jackley of South Dakota; Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee; Sean Reyes of Utah; and Jason Miyares of Virginia. PLN will update developments as they are available. See: Indiana v. FCC, USCA (8th Cir.), Case No. 24-02983.
Additional source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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