Louisiana doesn't have to cut prison phone calls — for now. Here's why it's a big debate.

Louisiana prisons and the phone companies they contract with have gotten a reprieve from slashing the cost of calls to inmates after the Federal Communications Commission postponed a rule it issued last year to require the price cuts.

It’s at least a temporary win for state leaders and law enforcement officials who argued the FCC overstepped its authority and did not base the rule on proper evidence.

The lower rates could also create budgetary challenges for the state and sheriffs, as correctional facilities typically receive a commission off the rates prison phone companies charge — earlier this year, the state said the lower rates were expected to leave a $4 million hole in the corrections budget.

But the decision to halt the lower rates upset some members of the Louisiana Public Se