Efforts Emerge to Correct Prison Phone Rates, Mental Health Services and Reception Area Wait Times

Rep. Barragán Leads Call to End FCC’s Unlawful Delay of Prison Phone Rate Caps

LONG BEACH — Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) Aug. 12 led a group of 22 lawmakers in sending a letter to Federal Communications Commission or FCC Chairman Brendan Carr urging him to reverse his unlawful decision to halt implementation of the bipartisan Martha Wright-Reed Justice and Reasonable Communications Act (“Martha Wright-Reed Act”).

The Martha Wright-Reed Act, passed with bipartisan support in 2022, gave the FCC explicit authority to set prison and jail phone and video call rate caps and required implementation no later than Jan. 5, 2025. In July 2024, the FCC unanimously approved new rate caps—slashing the cost of a 15-minute call from as much as $11.35 to as little as $0.90. Earlier this year, however, Chairman Carr halted full implementation until 2027, a move that is both unlawful and harmful.

Research has shown that staying in touch with loved ones while incarcerated reduces recidivism and improves public safety. Yet one in three families with an incarcerated loved one go into debt just to afford phone calls.

Details: The letter is available here. 

LA County Improves Jail Mental Health Services and Wait Times in Inmate Reception Center

LOS ANGELES — LA County has reached a milestone in Rutherford v. Luna, a case that addresses, in part, the county’s need to improve conditions and reduce wait times for housing for inmates passing through the Inmate Reception Center upon entry to the Los Angeles County Jail system. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Health Services’ Correctional Health Services with the Chief Executive Office DOJ Compliance Office and other county partners, have improved the IRC through a series of corrective actions to shorten wait times and speed medical and mental health screening for individuals arriving at the LA County Jails.

As of July 2025, the LASD and LA County have been in compliance with all IRC-related requirements set by Rutherford v. Luna for six consecutive months without interruption. This is a critical landmark in the stipulated order.

The improvements come as county departments are working on multiple fronts to improve conditions in the jails and come into full compliance with settlement agreements with the United States Department of Justice, as well as Rutherford court orders.  

Details: For more information on the DOJ Compliance Office, visit: ceo.lacounty.gov/doj-compliance-office/.