Wisc. cable competition bill delayed

Wisc. cable competition bill delayed

	Published : Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:11 By : Agencies Print this Story

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Concerns over how much it will cost the state to license telecommunications companies and field consumer complaints about service delayed passage of a fast-tracked bill designed to increase cable competition.

Instead of passing the measure Tuesday, the state Senate ordered it back to the budget committee to get a better understanding of how much it will cost the state. The proposal would end the 30-year-old practice of letting local communities negotiate service agreements and instead have the state do it.

Under the bill, the state Department of Financial Institutions would license video service providers while another agency, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, would handle consumer calls and complaints.

The bill also would extend consumer protections to satellite TV for the first time.

Barry Orton, a University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor and consultant to local governments, said he estimates the change would cost the state at least $1 million.

Orton said slowing down consideration of the bill to understand its costs only makes sense.

'The state has to take into account the cost to taxpayers,' he said. 'The budget implications can't be ignored.'

Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, objected to the move, saying the bill should be passed given that it has bipartisan support. He cautioned that delaying it could unravel what he called a 'tenuous deal' on the proposal.

But Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said a Joint Finance Committee review was needed to see what impact the bill would have on the state's $58 billion budget. Cost estimates have ranged from nothing to more than $600,000, she said.

Rules require any bill costing more than $10,000 to go through the committee, Robson said.

The vote to send the bill to committee was 18-14.

The Assembly also was scheduled to debate the bill Tuesday. Even if it passed the Assembly, it would need approval from the Senate before going to Gov. Jim Doyle for his consideration.

Doyle has not yet said whether he would sign the bill should it pass, but spokesman Matt Canter said he supports changes made to the bill to ensure existing consumer protections remain in place.

'The governor supports competition in the marketplace if that's going to service consumers well,' Canter said.

With an eye on competing in Wisconsin, telecommunications giant AT&T has dispatched 15 lobbyists to work the bill and has donated $54,000 to Doyle and lawmakers in the past 15 months, according to campaign finance records.

AT&T supports a statewide licensing system, instead of having to go through each municipality, as a simpler and more efficient way for it to compete in the state.

The bill is modeled after laws passed in 11 states. Texas became the first state in 2005 to streamline the video franchise process, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Supporters argue the proposal will provide competition where there is none and reduce the cost of delivering telecasts. They also say the bill ensures that no communities will get less money under the new agreement than they do currently.

But opponents point out the bill does not guarantee competition, or competitive pricing, and large telecommunications companies are unlikely to set up shop in more sparsely populated parts of the state.