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from: Daily Cardinal

Opponents of cable bill lobby Doyle to again use partial veto

By: Charles Brace / The Daily Cardinal - December 13, 2007

The bill relating to cable television passed the Assembly Tuesday, but opponents still hope Gov. Jim Doyle will veto portions of the legislation before signing it.

Opponents of the Video Competition Act that passed Tuesday are now lobbying Gov. Jim Doyle in a final effort to change the bill.

The bill saw multiple amendments proposed Tuesday, with all failing largely along party lines. It has already passed the state Senate, so opponents want to persuade Doyle to veto areas in the bill the amendments hoped to change.

The bill would update many state statutes concerning cable television and the types of fees that companies must pay to operate in the state.

State Rep. Gary Hebl, D-Sun Prairie, offered the majority of amendments proposed Tuesday night. He said he hoped Doyle would veto portions of the bill to increase consumer protections.

Many of the votes on the amendments failed 51-to-46, which indicates any vetoes made by Doyle would not be overridden, according to Hebl, A two-thirds majority must vote in favor to override a governor’s veto in the Assembly.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is also opposed to the bill. Cieslewicz spokesperson George Twigg said the mayor had sent a letter to Doyle asking him to veto portions of the bill relating to public access channels, consumer protections and how the bill affects city infrastructure.

“Hopefully we’ll see some improvements to a pretty flawed piece of legislation,” Twigg said.

Twigg said it was unclear how the bill might affect the city’s current franchise agreement with Charter Communications, depending on if another provider entered the Madison market.

Only one government employee, according to Twigg, is assigned to deal with all state cable and satellite television consumer complaints in the bill.

One of the main authors of the bill, state Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, said the bill would benefit consumers and force companies to lower rates.

“This landmark legislation will reform Wisconsin’s archaic cable franchising process by promoting competition,” Montgomery said in a statement. “Not stifling it, as the current process has done for years.”

Doyle spokesperson Carla Vigue said the governor is still reviewing the final version of the bill that passed. She said he favors the idea of competition presented in the bill, but that he wants to make sure it adequately protects consumers.