Faith Groups Press FCC on Changes to Prison-Calling Rules
An array of faith-based organizations are lobbying the FCC's 10th floor to get it to reverse or alter course on the prison-calling draft order and Further NPRM that are before commissioners. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr circulated the draft order earlier this month (see 2510070044), proposing to change the agency's rate-cap-setting methodology and include security and surveillance costs in the rates. "Deeply held Catholic beliefs show that the lowest possible rates should be offered to families and incarcerated people," the faith groups said in a docket 23-62 filing posted Friday to recap meetings with FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty and staffers for Carr and Commissioner Anna Gomez.
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The delegation advocated for the FCC to clarify that site commissions and ancillary fees aren't legitimate costs and that the FNPRM shouldn't seek comment on reinstating them. The agency also should clarify that the 2-cent facility additive isn't automatic and thus shouldn't become a de facto site commission, and in fact, it should remove the 2-cent additive altogether from prisons since there's no data backing it, the groups said. In addition, they urged that the FNPRM seek comment on how FCC rules should apply to wholesale rates.
Attending the meetings were representatives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Just Future Project and the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry.
Separately, Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., said in a letter to Carr posted Friday (docket 12-375) that he backed the proposed additional small-jail rate-cap tiers. Smaller facilities can incur higher per-inmate costs to provide incarcerated people's communication services (IPCS), Griffith said. He called on the FCC to gather new data on safety and security facility costs that local governments incur to provide IPCS services, as well as to consider periodic rate-cap inflation adjustments and graduated compliance deadlines based on the rate-cap tiers, with the smallest facilities getting more time.