Phone Rate Repeal
Situation:
In 2003, the Florida Legislature passed the largest phone rate hike in history. Just before passage of the law, phone lobbyists slipped in a provision that would allow phone companies to automatically raise basic phone rates 20 percent a year every year without additional government oversight after the defined rate rebalancing was achieved. For consumers on fixed incomes such increases would be a major blow to their financial security and quality of life.
Strategy:
By leveraging relationships with consumer groups such as AARP, the Florida Consumer Action Network and Florida Public Interest Research Group, our firm was able to help the Consumer Federation of the Southeast (CFSE) form a coalition that would wield significant clout during the upcoming election year. Three highly visible and creative news conferences and events, combined with aggressive ongoing media outreach, kept the issue in the news and leveraged constituent pressure on legislators to vote for repeal. We also created and launched a hard-hitting statewide cable television campaign exposing the role of phone lobbyists in duping legislators into passing the hidden automatic rate hike provision.
Outcome:
The six-month media and third-party advocacy campaign produced ongoing news coverage and grassroots pressure on lawmakers that led to the repeal of the automatic 20 percent rate hikes to the benefit of millions of Florida consumers.
