Crist signs cable TV bill but asks for tighter enforcement

CRIST SIGNS CABLE TV BILL BUT ASKS FOR TIGHTER ENFORCEMENT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Bill Kaczor]
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) signed a bill into law Friday that is designed to increase cable television competition, but he also asked lawmakers to strengthen its consumer protection provisions in the future. Some consumer groups and local governments had urged Gov Crist to veto the legislation (SB 529). They disputed claims it would reduce rates and argued the measure's service standards are too loose and enforcement provisions too weak. Gov Crist agreed on the latter point, but wrote in a letter accompanying the new law that he believes it will mostly benefit consumers as claimed by the measure's sponsors, who titled it the "Consumer Choice Act of 2007." The law, sought by telephone companies to make it easier for them break into the cable market, will shift authority to grant franchises from cities and counties to the state.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070518/APN/705181725

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