ST. PAUL — A far-reaching bill regulating cable television in Minnesota may be in trouble, at least for this session of the Legislature.

The Senate Government Operations committee failed to take a vote on the bill Wednesday after two hours of discussion. The first time the bill could come up for a vote again will be next Wednesday.

However, by then there will be less than five weeks remaining in the session and the bill has to go through the Finance Committee because of a money appropriation before finally reaching the floor.

The same procedure is true in the House where the bill has not as yet been heard by the full committee and then has to go to the Appropriations Committee before reaching the floor.

One of those smiling after Wednesday’s meeting was H. Clifton Kroon of Mankato, one of the owners of New Ulm TV Signal. Kroon said he sees too little time left in the session for final passage of the bill this session.

Kroon is president of the Minnesota Cable Communications Association and said after the meeting in an interview, “the cable television issue should be turned over to an interim study commission” where a better bill could be drafted for the 1974 session using industry input.

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KROON said he simply “doesn’t understand” the need for the bill which sets up a five-member commission to regulate cable television providing for public hearing and bidding for franchises in communities.

He said if his firm didn’t provide adequate service in New Ulm, residents would complain or simply not subscribe to the system.

TV Signal was called before the New Ulm City Council several years ago for a public hearing in which many residents charged them with poor quality reception.

Sen. Winston Borden, DFL-Brainerd, chief author of the bill, did not see the lack of a vote as a setback. He added there was plenty of time to get the bill on the floor before the May 21 adjournment.

A motion to refer the bill to the Commerce and Labor Committee was made by Sen. Robert Ashbach, R-Arden Hills, who then withdrew it when it became apparent a vote would be delayed until next week.

Borden admitted that if the bill goes to the other committee “that would probably kill it” for this session. He speculated opponents of the bill would try to muster enough votes to refer the bill to the commerce and labor committee before next Wednesday.

Borden,who authored a similar bill last session only to see it fail in committee, added, “I don’t think they have the votes (to refer to another committee).”

Wednesday’s discussion on the bill was similar to subcommittee testimony except only members of the committee were allowed to speak. There was no public testimony.

Borden said, “There are very few cable companies that provide local programs. Most just provide clear channel television.”

When asked who would pay for the local programs Borden said, “When I speak to the Rotary Club in Brainerd the cable sends a man with a camera to televise it. The whole setup costs only between $5,000 and $10,000.”

When questioned further Borden said the cable commission would have to set guidelines for local programming depending upon the number of subscribers.

Cable executive and former Lt. Gov. James Goetz said in an interview Wednesday that the industry is not trying to kill the bill, but would like to sit down with all interested parties and put together a good bill.

Goetz called Borden’s bill a “cut and paste” version of other laws and was not in the legislative philosophy of Minnesota.

“It’s in the industry’s interest to have state involvement,” Goetz said, but cautioned this bill puts the commission and the cable firms as advisaries rather than a cooperative basis.

The Federal Communications Commission in March 1971 issued an order governing cable television in’the United States and the powers cannot be precluded by state or local laws,Goetz said.

The FCC left interconnection of systems to the local municipalities. Goetz said this should be done in a rational way, but that it should be done.

Present regulations by the FCC require any cable system with over 3,500 subscribers to provide local programming. Some industry people are trying to have this moved up to 5,000 subscribers.

Goetz said he would “not favor” increasing the 3,500 minimum level and that there was enough profit from 3,500 subscribers to provide local programming on a cable channel.

The New Ulm system has over 3,500 subscribers.

New Ulm Daily

Journal, April 12, 1973