Sneaking in the backdoor - the Senate companion bill scheduled for tomorrow morning!

[12:40am ET Thursday Morning - Added More Contact Information, Expanded Article] I have just been informed big cable and their lobbying friends are going to try to pull a fast one on us in North Carolina.  Sometimes you successfully defeat them at the front door while they sneak in the back.  That is precisely what they are going to try tomorrow morning.

Brian Bowman, Public Affairs Manager for the city of Wilson, just informed us that Senate Bill 1004, the companion hit-piece on consumers to HB 1252, has been moved up for consideration in a Senate committee tomorrow morning bright and early.

In a sneak attack, the industry hopes to breeze through the approval process on the Senate side after failing in the North Carolina House of Representatives.  So unless you get on the phone right now and make those calls, today’s victory could become tomorrow’s defeat.  Allowing big cable and telco lobbies to get their foot jammed in the back door is a consumer catastrophe.

It’s clear the industry people have already camped out in several offices and have brought the pizza and coffee.  When Bowman called one of the chairperson’s offices to confirm the time, the administrative assistant literally handed the phone to a cable company employee to explain the bill! How nice of them.

Here’s Brian’s take on the entire event:

The Senate Commerce Committee will take up SB 1004 tomorrow morning at 8am. We hope you’re there. The cable company hopes you’re not.

This one sneaked up on a lot of people.

I have to tell you about a conversation I had this afternoon with a Time Warner employee. What he said is important. Where he said it is even more important.

I heard late in the afternoon that the senate version of HB 1252 was coming up the next day at 8am. We were all still celebrating the departure of HB 1252 for a study committee when I got the call.

So, I call a legislator’s office to confirm this unusual start time. Normally, I thought, this group meets at 11am, not 8am. The assistant says, “Let me hand the phone to someone who knows about it.” I’m expecting an aide or a clerical worker. Instead, one of Time Warner’s executives picks up the phone. This is at 5pm in the afternoon.

“Now, Brian, I know what you’re going to say and I just happened to be walking by,” he said. “What’s going to happen tomorrow is we’re going to do a PCS (substitute) so it will go to the revenue committee.”

Now, keep in mind, this is an industry exec in a legislator’s office, talking like he’s a legislator. We???

“There won’t be any of the real estate grabbing like today,” he said, referring to Representative Faison’s urging to send the house bill to the rural broadband committee. “We want it to go to the revenue committee.” We???

I have faith in our legislators. They did the right thing in the house. But, this one just doesn’t sit well. Since when do company execs talk like they’ve already scripted our elected officials. We???

That said, let’s not give them an empty room tomorrow. Please join us at 8am, room 1027 of the Legislative Bldg. on Jones St.

There is still time to contact the NC Senate Commerce Committee members.  I want every North Carolina resident on the phone, but you can also send them e-mail for good measure, and remember to tell them this is a deal-breaker.  If they vote for this, there is no way you will support them in the next election.  If you can, and I know this is asking a lot, we’re going to need to pack Room 1027 with actual consumers tomorrow morning (Thursday) in the Legislative Building at 8:00am.  With our faces in their faces, there is no way this sneak attack will succeed.

Courtesy of Mark Turner and Jay Cuthrell, here is contact information for the Senate Committee (all area codes 919):