PORTLAND (AP) – A dispute over telephone rates for state prisoner phone calls went all the way to the state’s highest court on Thursday. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which heard arguments Thursday, has been asked to settle the issue of whether the Department of Corrections or the Public Utilities Commission has jurisdiction over the phone rates that apply to prison inmates.

The issue stems from complaints that Maine inmates are forced to pay inflated rates for phone calls from prison. In Maine, local calls generally cost about 3 cents per minute, but the Maine Department of Corrections charges family members of inmates 30 cents per minute.

On top of that, there’s an additional surcharge that produces revenue for Department of Corrections.

“The prison system should not place financial barriers in the way of inmates’ ability to maintain their support and connection with family and friends on the outside,” said Zachary Heiden of the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

The issue went to the Public Utilities Commission in 2007, when Barbara Pierce and other family members filed a complaint.

Rates charged for calls, connection charges and prepaid account maintenance were discriminatory under Maine law, they said. They also said the PUC was the appropriate agency to set phone rates, which are required by state law to be “just and reasonable.”