When the state Assembly and Senate passed AB 2987, they did so with the firm belief that the bill will bring competition, lower prices and improved video services to consumers, while keeping cities that had previously controlled the franchising process financially whole.
Malibu Mayor Ken Kearsley acknowledges that AB 2987 authorizes Malibu to receive the same 5 percent the city is currently receiving, but his fear that the city will receive less or the state will somehow derail that money is unfounded. In fact, the franchise fee will still be paid directly to local governments and we believe cities will potentially receive more, not less money than they now do.
As competition for video services heats up, any number of satellite customers who currently don’t pay a franchise fee may well migrate to the technologically advanced services that will be provided through phone companies’ use of fiber optic cables such as those used by Verizon. That can only increase a city’s revenues from franchise fees.
That’s why supporters of the bill are as diverse as the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the California NAACP, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, League of United Latin American Citizens, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Our statewide coalition of more than 60 organizations believes the current amended version of AB 2987 strikes a reasonable balance between local control and the need for greater competition that will bring all consumers lower prices.
Erin Garvey,
Executive Director
Californians for Technology and Video Choice