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Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON

TV bill gets heavy static *** Cities argue franchise fees real target

BellSouth wants to stream digital television into your home. But it does not want to pay the franchising fees to towns and parishes that cable TV companies do.

Legislation advanced Wednesday by a Senate committee would give communications giants such as BellSouth an opportunity to play in what has traditionally been the cable companies' back yard.

The bill's backers say it also would cultivate competition, giving consumers more bang for their buck - hundreds of channels for less money.

However, most of East Baton Rouge Parish and the state's other major markets would be left out of the mix.

Telephone companies could come into the parish, but would have to pay the local governments, something they do not want to do.

Many local governments vehemently oppose House Bill 699, which would allow cable's competitors to bypass franchise fees in less- populous parishes.

Local officials told the Senate Commerce Committee that the legislation is the first step toward stripping franchise fees from all cities and parishes.

"This is a Trojan horse," Louisiana Municipal Association Executive Director Tom Ed McHugh said.

"It's pretty," he said, but "inside is the mechanism that will start to hurt local governments across the state."

HB699 would allow companies to enter into a 10-year franchise with the state to provide cable service. That means they would not have to make individual franchise agreements with cities and parishes.

And cable companies could opt out of their current franchise agreements with some local governments.

There is a catch.

Most of larger local governments - including the bulk of East Baton Rouge and New Orleans - would still hold the cards. Existing franchise agreements would not be broken and new ventures would have to deal with the cities instead of the state.

That is because the bill would exempt municipalities that adopted home rule charters before 1974. Most of East Baton Rouge Parish, New Orleans, Shreveport, Lake Charles and a handful of others would be exempt.

Baker, Zachary, the new city of Central and Alexandria would be included in the change.

"This is a consumer bill," Sen. Noble Ellington, D-Winnsboro, told the committee.

"If we want to find out who's going to win when this is over, it's going to be our constituents," he said.

Opponents said local governments would be the losers.

Jefferson Parish Council President John Young predicted that his parish ultimately will lose the fees even though the bill would allow Jefferson to continue collecting them.

Young characterized the bill as "the camel's nose in the tent," prompting a BellSouth representative in the audience to shake his head in disagreement.

"They want to remove local governments, maybe not today but next year or thereafter," Young said.

Louisiana is not alone in considering this type of legislation.

McHugh rattled off a list of states, from California to Maine, considering similar bills.

"This is not just a little bill," McHugh, a former East Baton Rouge mayor-president, told the committee. "It's a major national movement."

Trade groups for cable companies and telephone companies are blanketing the nation with competing ad campaigns.

An ad by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association pokes fun at the phone companies by showing a woman slowly dialing a rotary telephone.

"Cable brings you innovation each day, not each decade," the announcer says.

An ad by the U.S. Telecom Association, which represents the telephone companies, uses a folksy voice to tell the story of "TV freedom" in Keller, Texas.

Verizon started offering cable television in Keller last year and now has about 30 percent of the market.

Kevin McCotter, regional director for BellSouth Telecommunications, shared Keller's story with Senate committee members.

Verizon offered the town's citizens 180 channels for about $34 a month. AT&T came in and offered 240 channels for about $50 a month, he said.

Sen. Francis Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, asked what happened to the local government there.

"I can't speak to that," McCotter told him.

The bill's author, Rep. Billy Montgomery, told the committee that he is tired of paying more for his cable than his electricity.

After the meeting, McHugh said he thinks there will be constitutional problems if the bill becomes law.

He said he does not see how the state could allow cable companies to break contracts with local governments.

(c) 2006 Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.