Political News Feeds
- The latest news releases from Tennessee political parties, candidates and elected officials. If your feed needs to be included here and isn't, let us know.
TN Department of Education Announces School Counselor InstituteEducating the Whole ChildNASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud to announce the fifth annual Tennessee School Counselor and Administrator Leadership Institute beginning next week in Murfreesboro. This year’s theme, “The 360 Approach: Educating the Whole Child,” addresses the critical need of ensuring that our students are both college- and career-ready. read more [Link]
Governor Bredesen, Commissioner Kisber Announce Expansion of VW Supplier in TennesseeSL Tennessee, LLC to Invest $35 Million and Create 300 New Jobs in Clinton NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber today joined with executives of SL America to announce a $35 million expansion of SL Tennessee, LLC, a company subsidiary operating in Clinton, Tenn.. The expansion will create 300 new jobs and add ... [Link]
Devaney Statement on Tennessee Democrat Reps Voting to Raise U.S. Debt Limit Another $1.9 TrillionNASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney issued the following statement after Tennessee Democrats voted to raise America’s debt limit by $1.9 trillion which follows a vote in December to raise the debt limit by $290 billion: “Tennessee Democrats just don’t get it,” said Devaney. “Once again, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have won out over hard-working families ... [Link]
Recreation Initiative Program Grant Cycle Announced; Workshop Slated for March 3NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is soliciting Tennessee Recreation Initiative Program grant applications from local governments that do not currently have parks or recreation departments. TRIP grants help communities create recreation opportunities for citizens by assisting with the establishment of a parks department. Applications are due April 15, 2010, and award recipients will be announced in ... [Link]
Print This Post
Apr
4
Announcement of cable/AT&T deal set for Monday
By John Rodgers | Filed Under State Legislature
Leading lawmakers in the cable/AT&T negotiations over statewide franchising will roll out their compromise legislation Monday in a press conference, the House Democratic Caucus announced today.
The compromise bill marks the culmination of months of negotiations between the involved parties.
The deal is expected to have AT&T agree to “build out” its television service to a certain percentage of a town or city, as well as offer the services to some low-income residents.
From the March 24 edition of The City Paper:
To make an agreement happen, AT&T has given in on where it’s required to offer its services under a statewide franchise.
Going into the talks, one of the biggest points of contention was where a statewide franchise holder would have to offer video services.
Local franchise holders are often bound to “build out” to cover a certain area of a city or county, and therefore can’t “cherry pick” wealthy residents.
The cable industry has argued that a purely statewide franchise would allow AT&T to only cater to high-income customers.
In the tentative pact, Tennessee would be the only Southeastern state to require AT&T and other statewide television franchise holders to offer its services to a certain percentage of a geographical area within a certain time frame.
Some low-income customers would also have to be covered.
“That’s what the build out is going to look like,” said Rep. Randy Rinks (D-Savannah).
Since late last year, lobbyists and lawyers from the cable industry and AT&T have gathered in House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh’s conference room on Capitol Hill to try to hammer out a deal over statewide video franchising rights.
Currently, television franchises are obtained at the local level, such as Comcast in Davidson County.
AT&T, in its effort to get into the television services business and compete with cable, wants to pass legislation allowing for a statewide — instead of local — franchise. That would allow the telecom giant to offer services anywhere in the state and not have to strike local agreements.
During last year’s legislative session, AT&T spent millions lobbying for the bill, but the cable industry and its local government allies fended it off. The cable industry, defending its business model designed on local franchises, also spent millions lobbying against AT&T’s effort.
Naifeh (D-Covington), determined to not watch the same spectacle again, started gathering AT&T and cable, and then local governments, together to try to work out a deal. Those talks are winding down, and the compromise bill could be produced this week or within the next two, said Rinks, one of the lawmakers involved in the negotiations.
“There’s been a lot of progress that I think has been made,” Rinks said.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) also said a compromise bill would likely be released this week and he’s “very optimistic” statewide franchising legislation would be passed this year.
Comments
One Response to “Announcement of cable/AT&T deal set for Monday”
Comments Policy: The City Paper does not moderate comments before they appear on Nashville City Blogs and bears no responsibility or liability for comments posted by our readers. We do use an automatic spam filter and a dirty-words scrubber to screen out foul language. Comments with more than three hyperlinks may be automatically rejected as spam. Please stay on topic and play nice. Foul language and personal attack are not welcome here and egregious violations may result in your comment being deleted.
Leave a Reply
[...] of a town or city, as well as offer the services to some low-income residents. —> http://politics.nashvillecityblogs.com/?p=505 [...]