Why won't the attorney general help us block robocalls?

Here's something we can all agree on. Democrats and Republicans. Liberals and Conservatives. Young and old. Male and female. Gay and straight.

We all -- and I mean that... all -- hate robocalls.

Not long ago, a group of 44 state attorneys general (as well as the AG for the District of Columbia) signed a letter to the big phone companies urging them to begin offering call-blocking services to customers. There was some concern if such a service was legal, but the FCC finally cleared that up, saying that federal regulations don't prevent phone companies from offering the service.

So the AGs sprang into action. Their letter reads in part: "Every year, our offices are flooded with consumer complaints pleading for a solution to stop intrusive robocalls. Your organizations are now poised to offer your customers the help they need. We urge you to act without delay."

It says the FCC clarification removed "any doubt" about their ability to offer call-blocking solutions to customers so that can stop "robocalls, scam text messages and unwanted telemarketing calls."

The letter is then signed by the attorney general from every state except Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma,Texas....YOU GUESS IT... Arizona.

According to an article by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, our state's Attorney General Mark Brnovich believes it would be inappropriate to weigh in on behalf of beleaguered Arizona telephone customers.

His spokesman told Fischer, "For us, it was a question of this office, whether or not it was the place of attorney general to tell otherwise law-abiding businesses what products or services they should or should not be offering."

It's not a matter of telling. It's a matter of suggesting.

We expect the attorney general to act when businesses injure citizens, either financially or physically. But it should also be the attorney general's job to let business owners know when they can help citizens and prevent a problem from happening in the first place.

I heard this week from a woman named Joyce Meaking from Casa Grande. She told me that the was "very disappointed" that Brnovich wasn't joining the other attorneys general in urging phone companies to offer the anti-robocall service.

"I have a very ill husband. I'm on duty 24/7 and with a robocall you have no way to stop them from calling," she said. "It can be a real hassle and I feel like our attorney general should be looking out for us."

For example, by simply encouraging "law-abiding businesses" to offer a product that would help law-abiding citizens.