The U.S. Senate candidate said he wants assurances the new law will make phone rates "cost-neutral."
By STEVE BOUSQUET and JONI JAMES
Published January 9, 2004
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd on Thursday raised doubts for the first time about a controversial phone rate increase he voted for last year, saying he now wants proof that higher local rates would be offset by lower long-distance charges.
Byrd, one of six Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate, said he has heard complaints about the decision from voters on the campaign trail. But he said that criticism was not overwhelming, and he stopped short of calling for repeal of the new rates.
Rather, he said, he wants firm assurances that the legislation would be "cost-neutral" to consumers.
"I am in a deep research mode," Byrd said. "Is it going right or is it going wrong? I'm poised to make sure that the Legislature's intent is carried out. I'm not going to be passive."
Byrd's sudden interest in the phone rate hike follows a highly publicized campaign by Attorney General Charlie Crist to block the $355-million increase from taking effect, claiming it would not provide the rate relief that the law requires.
The Public Service Commission approved the new rates last month, but Crist is asking the Florida Supreme Court to block the new rates from taking effect.
The timing of Byrd's statement struck some as election-year posturing.
"It's very interesting to watch all these people who sat back now try to paint themselves as consumer advocates," said Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, one of 12 senators who opposed the bill.
He said he would be "suspicious of the motivation of any legislator" who wants to revisit the issue.
"I've seen the polling during the last election cycle," Lee said. "This is one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation the Legislature has ever passed."
Michael Twomey, a consumer advocate who lobbied against the rate increase on behalf of AARP, said he was "gratified" Byrd was "expressing doubt."
"But it wasn't for a lack on my part or the part of the AARP or others that lawmakers didn't know what would happen," said Twomey, president of Florida Utility Watch. "We predicted exactly what would happen."
The measure, shaped by lobbyists for the telecommunications industry, passed both houses in the final days of the 2003 session with strong support from Republicans and Democrats. It was a giant victory for a telecommunications industry that had tried for years to win approval for higher residential rates.
A poll last May for the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald found overwhelming public opposition to the new law, with 84 percent of those surveyed opposed and 9 percent in favor.
Gov. Jeb Bush signed the bill into law, emphasizing he supported the provision that gave the five-member PSC power to approve or reject the new rates. The agency unanimously approved the new rates last month.
Rate increases should be allowed only if they are "revenue neutral," the law states. That means reductions in long-distance rates would be offset by increases in basic rates for local service. For basic rates to go up, access fees for in-state long-distance would be lowered.
But there are no guarantees those reductions would be passed along to consumers, and even if they were, they do little to help low-income people who use only basic service.
Crist on Wednesday filed a challenge with the Florida Supreme Court, triggering a state law that automatically stays the rate increases until the court acts.
On Thursday, the attorney general made another legal maneuver aimed at increasing his odds of success.
Crist asked the court to maintain the stay, but relinquish jurisdiction of his challenge to the PSC, so the commission could reconsider its decision. Should the court grant that request, it would give Crist up to two chances at success: an appeal before the PSC and a possible followup appeal to the court.
Crist said he welcomed Byrd's concerns.
"It sounds like he's in the same boat we are," Crist said. "All along, we just wanted to enforce the bill."
The telecommunications industry, which has pumped more than $5-million to Florida campaigns and political parties in recent years, persuaded lawmakers to pass the new rates as "revenue neutral."
But the industry ran into criticism when it hit the PSC.
While the companies requested $355-million in higher rates to take effect in the first quarter of this year, they refused to say publicly how much they were lowering access rates.
