Baltimore, MD – National advocacy organization Worth Rises has filed a petition for clarification and rehearing with the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), urging the PSC to closely scrutinize the proposed ownership transfer of Securus Technologies, one of the state’s largest providers of correctional telecom service, and halt the transfer if the entities do not adequately demonstrate that the transfer is in the public interest as required by Maryland law.
Worth Rises’ petition, which joined a similar challenge filed by the Office of People’s Counsel last month, objects to the Commission’s October 2025 decision to merely “note” the transaction, thereby abdicating its statutory responsibility to make the determination required under Maryland law to affirmatively approve or deny the change in ownership. Notably, the proposed transfer arises from a massive debt-for-equity restructuring following Securus’ default on approximately $1.6 billion in debt, raising serious concerns about financial stability, operational continuity, and transparency. While not completely clear given the PSC’s one-sentence decision, the matter of the PSC’s authority to approve the transfer rests on whether it will assert jurisdiction over the Delaware-based holding company that holds Securus Technologies.
“Securus is using a shell game of corporate restructuring to pull a fast one on the Public Service Commission and the public itself,” said Bianca Tylek, Executive Director of Worth Rises. “Securus serves a uniquely vulnerable population — incarcerated people and their families — who cannot choose their phone provider and depend on regulators for protection. Regulators owe the public an explanation for why the Commission failed to exercise its responsibility, and a real evaluation of whether the ownership transfer is in Maryland’s interest.”
Whether the PSC affirms or alters its earlier ruling, some party will likely appeal the agency’s decision and rationale to the Circuit Court.
“The law is clear: you cannot evade the Commission’s jurisdiction simply by placing a ‘joystick’ holding company in Delaware to direct the machinery operating in Maryland,” said Thiru Vignarajah, former Deputy Attorney General of Maryland, who is representing Worth Rises. “The General Assembly specifically updated the law to ensure that any entity ‘operating’ in our state — regardless of where it is incorporated — is subject to oversight.”
Securus and just two other for-profit corporations control the lion's share of the telecom systems used by incarcerated individuals and their families in Maryland. Yet, state regulators are doing little to ensure Maryland consumers are protected from predatory behavior, which Securus, like the others, has a demonstrated pattern of — including charging exorbitant rates, price fixing, making misrepresentations to regulators, and recording of constitutionally protected calls.
Both the full petition for rehearing and last week’s reply were filed with the Maryland Public
Service Commission and are available upon request.