Attorney General Tim Griffin, alongside Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, has initiated a lawsuit representing Arkansas, Indiana, and 12 other states against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The legal action challenges a new FCC rule regulating phone service providers in prisons.
Griffin stated, "The FCC can’t dictate to Arkansas prisons how they negotiate cost-sharing agreements with service providers, and it can’t arbitrarily and capriciously pre-empt state laws regulating prison operations. Funds derived from inmate phone use go toward covering needed security measures. Without proper security measures, what would stop inmates from conducting criminal operations over the phone? The FCC’s regulations are disconnected from the economic and practical reality of providing communication services to inmates, and they exceed the FCC’s statutory authority."
He further added that if these regulations are implemented, prisons might discontinue existing communication services due to inadequate security funding. This could result in inmates losing the ability to make calls altogether.
Prisons currently negotiate contracts with communications service providers based on rate caps set by the FCC. Revenue from these contracts funds various security measures and services for inmates, such as access to online legal libraries and remote religious services. The new rule significantly reduces these rate caps, making it challenging for prisons to maintain necessary security investments.
Joining Griffin and Rokita in this lawsuit are attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin:
Tim Griffin was sworn in as Arkansas's 57th Attorney General on January 10, 2023. He previously served as Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023 and represented Arkansas’s Second Congressional District from 2011-2015. Griffin is also an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps with the rank of colonel.
Griffin's career includes roles such as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush. He holds degrees from Hendrix College in Conway and Tulane Law School in New Orleans.
Griffin resides in Little Rock with his wife Elizabeth and their three children.
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