Council Angers Cable Panel

The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure Tuesday that would give it more power over reviewing and negotiating lucrative cable television franchises, angering members of the city commission that evaluates the applications.

Members of the Information Technology Commission said the change would politicize the process. They urged Mayor James K. Hahn to veto what they called an attack on his and city commissions’ power.

“The cable companies have lobbied for this because they don’t want serious review by the commission,” said Melanie Lomax, a commissioner. “They have huge influence in the City Council because of political contributions.”

However, Hahn probably will sign the ordinance, a spokesman said.

Councilman Jack Weiss, who spearheaded the change, said it would streamline the franchise process, which already gives the council final authority to approve cable franchises.

He said that the city’s 14 cable franchise agreements expire in August and that reports on which should get the agreements were months overdue.

“In the past, there was certainly not a great record in terms of commissions complying with deadlines, and I think all we have done is to reaffirm that,” Weiss said.

As for the charge that the ordinance might politicize the franchise process, Weiss said: “As opposed to the relationship between the mayor’s office and their commissioners? That’s not political?”

The cable industry has spent more than $1 million on lobbying over the last two years. It also has been a major source of campaign contributions, donating $28,000 to city candidates in the last five years.

The commission now has the authority to take whatever time it needs to review applications for cable franchises before making recommendations to the council.

The ordinance adopted Tuesday by the council gives the commission 30 days to review each franchise application and report to the council with a recommendation or status briefing. The council can then give the commission more time or it can review the application itself.

The ordinance, commissioners said, gives them inadequate time to review applications that can involve hundreds of pages and could result in the council cutting them out of the loop altogether after 30 days.

“In 30 days, the information that we can convey is not going to be very meaningful,” said Commission Vice Chairman Dean Hansell.

Henry Gradstein resigned in December as chairman of the Information Technology Commission in protest when the rule change was first proposed. Other panel members said they would reevaluate their service if they were to lose their meaningful role.

The ordinance, which also applies to Transportation Department franchises, will be sent to Hahn, who has not yet read the final version, said Deputy Mayor Doane Liu.

“Streamlining a complicated approval process is a good thing,” Liu said. “We understand the commissioners’ concerns about the 30 days, but we think the council will be reasonable.”