Yesterday afternoon the Senate unanimously reported SB 190 sans amendments. This is a problem because the bill contains a "loser pays" provision that could have local units of government paying attorney fees for cable (you know, the multi-billion dollar corporations) if the local unit rejects a settlement. This bill contains a dispute procedure that is a hybrid of other procedures in the METRO and Telecommunications Acts, but neither of those acts has this fee shifting provision for municipalities. Taking off my lobbyist hat, as a taxpayer I'm furious that my taxpayer dollars could even have a chance of paying attorney fees for a very wealthy industry. One disappointing note is that if we had gotten these amendments, we would have stepped out of the way and supported this bill 100%.  The MPSC is anxious for this bill to pass, and we are sympathetic to their need to have a dispute resolution procedure (hello to our loyal blog readers from the MPSC). At the same time, we can't stand by idly with a provision that would be harmful to our communities.
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