I thought they just wouldn't go over 9 minutes due to internal rules (e.g., you'll get written up if your average call time goes over a certain level). Do you have a source for the "local governments" claim? I'd be very interested at yelling at my city council for imposing stupid rules like that.

(My main source for this goes back to Joel's article on Measurement[1].)

[1] http://www.joelonsoftware.com/news/20020715.html