Gov. Jeb Bush and Senate President Jim King consider repealing a phone rate increase premature. Democrats say Speaker Johnnie Byrd is merely feeding his U.S. Senate effort.
By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published March 23, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - As House Speaker Johnnie Byrd launched a one-man mission to repeal a phone rate increase Monday, the governor and Senate president stopped short of endorsing it.
Gov. Jeb Bush said in Tampa he would study the impact of a recent federal court ruling on Florida's efforts to cut rates through greater competition. Bush said he thought Byrd is sincere and motivated by "solid policy concerns" but isn't ready to repeal the law.
"On the surface, I think the guiding principles that compelled me to sign that bill will work, and I think we ought to see it through," Bush said.
Senate President Jim King called repeal premature, giving the phone industry's army of lobbyists hope they can thwart Byrd's efforts in the Senate.
"We have spent countless hours debating and passing this legislation twice in recent years," King said in a statement. "I do not intend to be premature in seeking a reversal of this law."
BellSouth and Verizon called Byrd's actions "unfounded" and "perplexing," respectively. Democrats said Byrd was pushing the repeal to promote his U.S. Senate ambitions. Some House Republicans complained privately about appearing to flip-flop.
Byrd wants to repeal a 2003 law that he supported over the strong opposition of consumer groups who said it would lead to the largest local phone bills in state history.
A year ago, Byrd and most lawmakers agreed with the phone companies, that higher local rates would be offset by cheaper long-distance charges and greater competition would benefit consumers.
Last year, Byrd defended his support for the new rates, calling it a clear choice between free markets and "a Socialist view."
"I'm a deregulator. I believe in the free marketplace," Byrd said Monday. "And when you go down the road toward a free market and it goes bad, you have to have the courage to stop."
Byrd now cites two reasons to repeal the law: a legal challenge by Attorney General Charlie Crist and a federal court decision that favored the regional phone companies at the expense of their competitors.
A U.S. appeals court in Washington recently struck down FCC rules requiring BellSouth, Verizon and other large companies to sell network access to rivals at discount prices. That decision, Byrd said, impairs local competition.
Alan Ciamporcero, Verizon's senior executive in Florida, said Byrd "hasn't done his homework." Because the FCC has not yet acted on the court's decision, Ciamporcero said, nothing has changed.
"The speaker should realize that no good will would be produced by going back in time to a heavily regulated telecom market," Ciamporcero said.
Byrd met Monday with two dozen senior House Republicans and laid out his case for repeal. Other lawmakers listened with expressionless faces and were mostly silent. Only one asked a question.
"The only certainty coming out of this bill is that local service will go up, and will go up substantially," Byrd told the group.
BellSouth lobbyist Ron Book said some House members are "very angry" at having to take back a vote of last year. But he predicted that Byrd, stuck in low single digits in Senate opinion polls, will look like a champion of consumers, and his Senate campaign would be the big winner even if repeal fails.
"It catapults him to the front of the Senate race," Book said.
Byrd wants to get a repeal bill to the House floor as soon as possible. He added two Republican lawmakers to an obscure, five-member House committee to ensure enough votes to pass the bill Wednesday. The House Committee on State Administration usually acts on pension and public records issues.
The new appointees are Rep. Manny Prieguez of Miami, chairman of the Business Regulation Committee, who opposed the heavily lobbied law in 2003, and Rep. Randy Johnson of Celebration, chairman of the Finance and Tax Committee and a candidate in a costly and competitive state Senate race.
The only Tampa Bay area legislator on the committee is Rep. Kim Berfield, R-Clearwater.
- Times staff writers Jay Cridlin and Josh Zimmer contributed to this report.
