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from: Nashville Post

General Assembly committee chief won't sponsor AT&T reform bill

09-25-2007

House Commerce Committee Chairman Charles Curtiss told NashvillePost.com this morning he will neither sponsor nor cosponsor legislation for video-services franchise reform during the next session of the General Assembly.

Curtiss said he reached his conclusion soon after AT&T Tennessee "pulled the plug" on legislation the company, itself, originally crafted and then withdrew support for legislation prepared by Curtiss, who hoped to cure the concerns of AT&T, Tennessee Municipal League, the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association, and others.

"I wouldn't use the word 'double-crossed', I was just let down," Curtiss said this morning, adding that while he will vote for legislation that would speed availability of technology for Tennesseans, "I'll never have my name attached to a bill that's being pushed by AT&T."

Nonetheless, Curtiss continued, "I'm not mad at AT&T, I understand why they did what they did."

Chad Jenkins, TML deputy director, told NashvillePost.com this morning that TML also felt it had been blind-sided by the AT&T bill last time. TML's list of legislative priorities at the beginning of the session did not include franchise reform, but Jenkins said he "anticipates" that the issue will make the list next year, albeit it in a form not yet decided by members governing the association.

TCTA President Stacey Briggs told NashvillePost.com yesterday the cable industry remains steadfastly allied with TML.

AT&T had sought legislative changes that would have enabled providers to enjoy one-stop franchising at the state level, rather than having to negotiate individual city or county franchises with potentially hundreds of Tennessee government echelons, as the cable industry has been required to do for decades.

AT&T has said that without such reform, it will not invest additional capital in Tennessee to upgrade its infrastructure with the latest technology for video and other services.

Curtiss, a Democrat from Sparta, recalled that AT&T initially supported with enthusiasm the bill Curtiss introduced late in the process, but subsequently apparently became concerned about repercussions in other states, if it passed.

As a result, Curtiss said, "The rug got pulled out from under them and the [House Commerce] committee, too, by higher powers," a reference to AT&T corporate management in San Antonio. In May, an AT&T spokesperson denied that characterization of events within AT&T, insisting the decision was made principally by then-AT&T Tennessee President Marty Dickens.

Curtiss said he believed that the General Assembly and the stakeholders were close to agreement on reform last time, when the legislation was derailed.

Recently installed AT&T Tennessee President Gregg Morton has twice in recent weeks told NashvillePost.com that AT&T Tennessee intends to make another attempt at securing statewide franchise reform here, but is still studying the best advocacy approaches.

Going forward, Curtiss said he believes other members of his Commerce committee will work for passage of reform legislation, and he will focus solely on chairing the committee, diverting none of his energy to legislative sponsorship. He said he intends, once again, to manage the process in a balanced manner, favoring no party over another, as he believes he did in the previous round of debate. Curtiss indicated House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh supports his stepping back.

Curtiss said he believes there'll be at least two reform bills offered-up for the next session of the General Assembly, in January: one bill from AT&T's camp and another from supporters of local governments and cable-communications providers.