LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joins 40 other attorneys general acknowledging the Federal Communications Commission’s ongoing work to combat robocalls. In the letter attorneys general sent to the Commission, they recognized the FCC’s work encouraging states to join information-sharing agreements and collaboratively address complex robocalls issues.
“I have long been determined to end incessant robocalls and protect Arkansans from these con artists,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Even though we have made strides to stop these illegal calls, we still have a long way to go, and I am hopeful a combined effort with states and the FCC will continue to combat and eliminate robocalls.”
Attorney General Rutledge has led the national effort by state attorneys general to demand stronger oversight by the FCC by requiring telecommunication providers to aggressively block illegal robocalls before they reach consumers. Rutledge has consistently pushed the FCC to implement rules and policies to make telephone carriers more responsible to identify and block these calls and to hold the providers liable for allowing these calls to pass through their networks. Rutledge brought together state and federal partners, as well as representatives of the telecommunications industry, to develop effective and innovative methods to stop the scourge of these persistent calls.
Along with Rutledge, 40 other states and territories signed the letter. They are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
About Attorney General Leslie Rutledge
Leslie Carol Rutledge is the 56th Attorney General of Arkansas. Elected on November 4, 2014, and sworn in on January 13, 2015, she is the first woman and first Republican in Arkansas history to be elected as Attorney General. She was resoundingly re-elected on November 6, 2018. Since taking office, she has significantly increased the number of arrests and convictions against online predators who exploit children and con artists who steal taxpayer money through Social Security Disability and Medicaid fraud. Further, she has held Rutledge Roundtable meetings and Mobile Office hours in every county of the State each year, and launched a Military and Veterans Initiative. She has led efforts to roll back government regulations that hurt job creators, fight the opioid epidemic, teach internet safety, combat domestic violence and make the office the top law firm for Arkansans. Rutledge serves on committees for Consumer Protection, Criminal Law and Veterans Affairs for the National Association of Attorneys General. She also served as the former Chairwoman of the Republican Attorneys General Association.
A native of Batesville, she is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Rutledge clerked for the Arkansas Court of Appeals, was Deputy Counsel for former Governor Mike Huckabee, served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Lonoke County and was an Attorney at the Department of Human Services before serving as Counsel at the Republican National Committee. Rutledge and her husband, Boyce, have one daughter. The family has a home in Pulaski County and a farm in Crittenden County.