LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge released a statement following a decision by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay a Federal Communications Commission order.
The order would have limited the amount of money that states can recoup from inmate calling systems in prison. The FCC order would cap inmate calls at 11 cents per minute, but these calls actually cost jails 14 cents to 22 cents per minute. The new order would have resulted in a 50 percent decrease from previous limits in the amount states can recoup.
“The stay from the D.C. circuit is welcome news for local budgets and law enforcement across Arkansas,” Rutledge said. “Because of the court’s action, jails and prisons will not be shortchanged during the legal challenge to the FCC’s order. If this costly order had taken effect, the result would have been disastrous for many local communities.”
Rutledge, along with attorneys general from six other states, filed a motion recently to join the State of Oklahoma v. FCC lawsuit that deals with issue.