Rep. Charles Jim Beckett's AT&T legislation so bad Republicans are turning on him

Southern District Public Service Commissioner Leonard Bentz is incensed by Public Utilities Chairman Rep. Charles Jim Beckett's love letter to AT&T, too.  In an earlier post, I detailed Rep. Beckett's relationship with AT&T and the bill he crafted for them, HB 825.  In that post, I also covered Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley's (D) press release that called Rep. Beckett to the carpet for being AT&T's mouthpiece in the House.

Well, last night, Southern District Public Service Commissioner Leonard Bentz (R) jumped all over HB 825, too.  Here's an excerpt from Bentz's press release:

“This is a very bad bill for consumers in Mississippi,” Commissioner Bentz stated. “Even though AT&T will tell you that the oversight that we [PSC] have is limited, the little we do have is piece of mind for the consumers.”

“You don’t have to think very long to understand why this bill is bad. Think back to last time you called  in a problem to AT&T and the lack of customer service you received. This bill would make it worse. It is important to understand AT&T will lead you to believe this bill will affect only a small number of customers, but that is not so. As it stands right now, all customers with AT&T have the ability to file complaints with the Public Service Commission, and have the PSC on their side to help them navigate the system. The bill clearly states customer appeals will be removed from the PSC jurisdiction. 

Bentz tweeted his press release last night, and directed it at Fox News' account.  I find it amusing that Bentz believes Fox would pick up this ball and run with it.  He really should have directed it at Geoff Pender, Patsy Brumfield, Emily Wagster Pettus, Jeff Amy, or a host of other folks more likely to cover it.  Maybe now they will.