California caps jail call rates after years of advocacy, building on San Francisco’s leadership to make it easier for families to stay connected.

When Amika Mota was incarcerated, she used to pay as much as $15 just to speak with her daughter. Those calls weren’t optional—they were how she stayed connected, how she supported her child, how she held her family together during an incredibly difficult time. But the cost added up quickly, forcing impossible tradeoffs between staying in touch and covering basic needs.

Stories like Amika’s are why this moment matters.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has now adopted permanent caps on jail phone call rates, ensuring families across the state will no longer face highest costs just to stay connected. This is a big step forward—and a hard-won victory.

What Changed

Under the new statewide rules:

Phone call rates are now capped at 4.5 cents per minute
Hidden and junk fees are largely eliminated
Transaction fees are limited and transparent
Protections apply broadly across facilities in California

This decision builds on earlier action. In 2021, the CPUC put in place a temporary cap of 7 cents per minute while it studied the issue. Now, California has made those protections permanent—and gone even further.

San Francisco Led the Way

In 2020, San Francisco became the first county in California to make jail phone calls free, because we believe staying connected to family is a basic human need—not something people should have to pay for.

We’ve seen what happens when you remove the cost barrier:

Families stay connected
Financial stress goes down
People are better positioned to successfully return home

Why This Matters

When families can stay connected:

People are more likely to succeed after release
Recidivism goes down
Children and loved ones experience less trauma

As the CPUC recognized, maintaining family contact is critical to successful reentry. This is about more than phone calls. It’s about stability, dignity, and opportunity.

We are proud to have been part of the movement that made this happen. We also worked with others, like Amika Mota and Young Women’s Freedom Center and Empowering Women Impacted by Incarceration to make prison phone calls free in California. And big thanks to our local partners in the SF Jail Justice Coalition and The San Francisco Sheriff's Office.

A Big Step—but Not the Last

This reform will make a real difference for families across California. But it’s not the end of the story. No one should have to pay to stay connected to the people they love.

Local leaders across our state are currently working to make phone calls free in their local jails—and we stand with them as this movement continues to grow.

San Francisco Financial Justice Project & Office of Financial Empowerment
City Hall Room 140, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102

Homepage | Office of Financial Empowerment (sfgov.org)

Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

sf.ofe@sfgov.org | San Francisco, CA 94102 US

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list.