Competing for Legislators

COMPETING FOR LEGISLATORS
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] AT&T and Verizon spent $19.7 million -- $16,000 per California state legislator -- to win passage of AB2987, a bill that will allow the phone companies to apply for a single statewide franchise license to compete for cable customers. The bill streamlines the approval process for the phone companies who want to enter the cable business -- though they will be required to pay local-franchise fees and the local governments will maintain control over the installation of the video network. An amendment was added to satisfy existing cable companies' concerns by allowing them to obtain statewide-franchise fees when a phone companies initiates cable service in their territory. If the bill works as advertised, Californians soon will have more options for cable TV service. There is no guarantee that prices will come down, of course, but the history of cable has shown rather conclusively that the system of heavy-handed local regulation is not the route to cheaper prices, superior customer service or rapid arrival of dazzling new technologies. The bill cleared the Assembly on a 77-0 vote and is expected to reach Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk this week. It's a sorry commentary on the culture of Sacramento that it took so many lavish dinners, campaign donations, free tickets and golf outings to get this done. Our legislative leaders milked this issue, which could have advanced on its merits alone, for all it's worth.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/0...