Illinois Gov. Signs Franchise Law

ILLINOIS GOV SIGNS FRANCHISE LAW
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law which assigns franchising authority to the state’s Commerce Commission. The governor said the bill, SB678, will provide consumers with more providers while requiring incumbent operators to provide more reliable, on-time service. In addition to shifting franchising authority to state officials, the bill introduces a number of new customer service rules, such as the implementation of standards for installation, repair, telephone response time, billing, collections and services for the disabled. While the transfer of state authority took effect when the governor signed the bill July 3, implementation of service quality standards for incumbents will not begin until Jan. 1, 2008. Illinois is the 21st state to approve statewide regulation of cable franchising.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6457513.html