SBC significantly outspent cable TV interests in Tex. on its way ...
SBC significantly outspent cable TV interests in Tex. on its way to winning passage of controversial legislation that would allow SBC, Verizon and other competitors obtain a state-wide franchise as they seek to offer video in the state, according…
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to a study. The legislation was still hung up in the office of Gov. Rick Perry (R) Fri. Texans for Public Justice, a watchdog group based in Austin, said lobbying records for the state show SBC to be “Austin’s leading lobby force by far” outspending cable operators who oppose the bill. “Its army of 123 lobbyists -- who reported up to $6.8 million in SBC fees -- gave this giant well over twice the lobby clout of runner-up TXU,” the group said in a report: “Verizon, the next-largest beneficiary of the new telecommunications bill, paid 38 lobbyists another $1.8 million. As such, SBC and Verizon lobbyists outnumbered the 150-member Texas House.” The report continued: “This phalanx left the leading force opposing this handout in the dust. The Texas Cable and Telecommunications Assn. paid 11 lobbyists up to $685,000. Time Warner Cable paid 14 lobbyists $505,000.” Other significant cable spenders included Cox, which spent as much as $275,000 on 6 contracts with lobbyists. Comcast tossed in $50,000 on lobbying in the state. An SBC spokesman said: “We are happy to represent the best interests of the citizens of Tex. anxious for choice in video providers.”