New Jersey: CWA-Opposed Telecom Deregulation Bill May Be Dead

Surprise dissent from Gov. Chris Christie has likely doomed, for now, a New Jersey telecom deregulation bill that CWA, the AARP, consumer groups and other allies have vigorously opposed.

In March, the coalition of opponents succeeded in getting the bill shelved temporarily, but CWA leaders in New Jersey were bracing for a revised version to be introduced this month.

Christie, speaking publicly about the bill for the first time, told 17,000 AARP members on a conference call Wednesday that he had "grave concerns" about the bill's effect on seniors. He called basic telephone service a "lifeline" for seniors and said that the bill as written doesn't adequately protect them from "an enormous increase" in service charges.

CWA and its coalition of allies argued in a mass letter-writing and phone-call campaign that the bill would hurt workers and consumers. Armed with ample evidence from other states, they said deregulation makes it too easy for big telecoms to sell less profitable parts of their business to smaller companies that provide lower-quality service at higher prices.

The New Jersey Assembly passed the bill, but the Senate is unlikely to move forward with a planned April 28 vote given the governor's comments, according to media reports. A key sponsor, Sen. Raymond Lesniak, said doing so "would be an exercise in futility."

CWA District 1 Legislative/Political Director Bob Master said while Christie appears to have derailed the vote next week, telecom lobbyists undoubtedly are pushing sponsors to keep the bill alive.

"In my work, nothing is dead until it's really dead and buried," Master said. "But we've certainly put a big dent in their campaign to pass the bill, and if we have to do that again, we will."