Gov. Haley calls for FCC to allow states to act on cellphones in prisons

Gov. Nikki Haley targeted cellphones in prisons in a letter recently sent to the Federal Communications Commission.

Haley, along with nine other governors, signed the letter to FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler on Tuesday, according to a news release. The letter asks the FCC to “streamline regulatory review processes” regarding contraband cellphones in prisons, and to allow states more freedom to act on the matter.

“Correctional officers across the country work in an environment many will never see or fully understand in terms of threats to staff and public safety,” the letter reads. “Contraband cellphones in the hands of prisoners dramatically increase these threats to witnesses, the public, the officers, their families, and even other prisoners.”

In April, at a FCC field hearing held in Columbia, Haley asked that cellphone jamming restrictions be lifted and that states be granted permission to use blocking technology, the release says.

Haley’s cosigners on the letter included Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Indiana Gov. Michael Pence, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.