After a disaster strikes outages are likely and paying for your internet or cable that is not working should not be another burden for consumers, says Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields. His Senate Bill 352 would fix that.
“The whole purpose of this bill is when a consumer loses his or her services for 24 hours they should not have to pay,” Fields said.
Fields said he’s not interested in punishing companies, but in making the process of recovery easier. To emphasize that, he proposed amendments to the bill that limited the scope of when the rebates would take effect and who would be subject to them.
“Narrow the bill down to gubernatorial declared emergency and it will narrow it down to those utilities which are not needed,” Fields said.
Fields said currently a customer needs to contact their cable or internet provider in order to receive a refund if they experienced an outage after a hurricane or severe weather. The Baton Rouge lawmaker believes these refunds should occur automatically if the outage lasts more than 24 hours.
The proposal also puts cable and internet providers under the regulatory authority of the Public Service Commission.
Lauren Chauvin, executive director of the Louisiana Internet and Television Association, says they issued millions of dollars in refunds after Hurricane Ida and the bill calls for too many restrictions on service providers.
“We oppose the new burdens and regulations requiring a whole new entity to be regulated and lastly we oppose the strict liability that SB 352 will impose on our members,” Chauvin said.
The amended bill passed through Senate Commerce, with Fields pledging to work on the wording of the legislation before he brings it up for a vote in the Senate.
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