California’s LifeLine users are some of the state’s poorest residents, who might not have access to emergency services or a reliable way to communicate with their place of employment without subsidized phone service. AT&T has been trying to raise rates on the LifeLine program and prevent the California Public Utilities Commission from using its oversight powers to regulate the program’s rates. An AT&T-backed bill would have replaced low-cost, subsidized landlines with vouchers that could have brought a dramatic rise in phone costs for 1.2 million low-income Californians. The California Legislature was poised to pass AT&T’s bill until CREDO members joined with local community activism groups and lobbied members of the Legislature to put the bill on hold.