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Local Voice Ohio - Action on SB 117: Tell Your Rep to vote NO before the vote on June 14th!

WELCOME TO THE LOCAL VOICE OHIO ACTION PAGE!

By now you've heard that on June 12th, SB 117 passed in the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee with very little done to protect the public interest.

We still have one more bite at the apple with the bill coming before the full House on Thursday, June 14th.

Below is a sample e-mail/fax you can use for contacting your your representative. Tell them to vote NO on SB 117 to protect our consumers, our communities and to save PEG Access

This is VERY important for you, your friends and your neighbors to do TODAY! The vote is on June 14th so there is no time to waste!

All you have to do is fill out the information requested, and, with one click, copies will be directed to your State Representative.

You can make the letter more personal by including a short paragraph on your connection to this awful bill, whether that be your story as a cable consumer, local government official, PEG Access user or however this bill will negatively effect your life, tell that story. And feel free to include whatever thoughts you have about the importance of communications, local control and consumer protection in our democracy.

Once you send, all you have to do is get others to do so as well. It's time well spent.

Thanks for doing your part keep voices local in Ohio!

Don't forget to check the "Send a Fax" box!

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November 22, 2009

Subject:

Dear Representative,

SB 117, as passed by the House Public Utilities Committee on June 12th, is still bad for consumers, bad for communities and bad for Ohio.

While some very minimal advances were made in the committee, the bill still falls far short of making local governments and PEG operators whole:

* SB 117 still fails to protect local governments financially with meaningful changes to the definition of gross revenue for purposes of calculating video service provider fees.

* SB 117 still fails to permit local governments to effectively audit the payment of video service provider fees.

* SB 117 still fails to appropriately grandfather PEG funding and I-Net obligations, meaning these valuable resources will be lost in many communities.

* SB 117 still fails to provide a reasonable definition of "substantial utilization" for purposes of reclaiming PEG channels, allowing cable companies to do away with community bulletin boards and local channels in many smaller communities.

* SB 117 still fails to provide that complimentary service to public facilities may be required in return for private companies' use of public right-of-way property.

This bill is a disaster for Ohio citizens, and as such, I ask you to vote NO on SB 117.

Sincerely,

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Vote NO on SB 117!!!