The Federal Communications Commission is trying once again to limit the prices prisoners and their families pay for phone calls, proposing a new, higher set of caps in response to the commission's latest court loss.
A March 2016 federal appeals court ruling stayed new rate caps of 11¢ to 22¢ per minute on both interstate and intrastate calls from prisons. The stay remains in place while appeals from prison phone companies are considered, but FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn last week proposed new caps of 13¢ to 31¢ per minute in an apparent attempt to satisfy prison phone companies and the courts.
Prison phone companies Global Tel*Link (GTL) and Securus Technologies had argued that the FCC's limits fell short of what the companies are contractually obligated to pay in "site commissions" to correctional facilities. The new Wheeler and Clyburn proposal still wouldn't ban the commissions or limit what prisons can charge companies for site access. However, they say that the caps of 13¢ to 31¢ per minute account "for the possibility that jails and prisons bear legitimate costs in providing access to ICS [inmate calling services]."
The FCC will vote on this proposal at its August 4 meeting.
In the meantime, the FCC has been able to implement an "interim" cap of 21¢ per minute for debit and pre-paid calls, and 25¢ for collect calls, but these limits apply only to interstate calls, those that cross state lines. The latest Wheeler/Clyburn proposal would impose caps that apply equally to interstate and local, intrastate calls, and after a two-year transition period would also apply equally to collect calls. Their proposed rate caps would be higher at smaller facilities, with the 13¢ limits applying only to state or federal prisons. The proposal includes a 19¢ limit for jails with 1,000 or more inmates, 21¢ for jails with 350 to 999 inmates, and 31¢ for jails with fewer than 350 inmates.
As these limits are meant to replace the interim 21¢ cap, the 31¢ cap would apparently raise the amount that can be charged in the smallest facilities. "With the exception of the rate for smaller jails, the modified rates are substantially lower than or equal to the current 21¢/minute interim cap on interstate rates," the proposal said.
Despite its court troubles, the FCC has also been able to impose new limits on certain ancillary fees related to inmate calls, such as $3 for making automated payments by phone or website; $5.95 for making payments with a "live agent;" and $2 for "paper bill fees." The appeals court did not halt these fee caps, which is good news for inmates and their families since the fees can increase the cost of calls by nearly 40 percent.
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