We previously wrote about the video franchise legislation considered in this year’s session in Tallahassee. Well, the bill passed, with provisions that weren’t good, so now public interest groups are asking Gov. Crist to veto the bill.

John Kennedy, “Consumer Groups Want Plug Pulled on Cable Bill,” Orlando Sentinel blog: Central Florida Political Pulse, May 8, 2007.

The groups behind the veto effort are Florida PIRG, Tampa Bay Community Network, Free Press, and Consumer’s Union. Here’s the press release from Free Press.

Gov. Crist has until May 18 to sign or veto the bill, or it will pass into law without his signature.

Update: There’s also an AP story which has been picked up by outlets across Florida (here it is in the Gainesville Sun). The Political Whore at Creative Loafing Tampa also has a post.

Update 2: The Palm Beach Post has an editorial urging a veto.

Update: The St. Petersburg Times is also calling for a veto.

Competition is only a smoke screen to rationalize the industry’s mad dash to win the most lucrative markets. … This is a terrible bill, and the governor should veto it.

Update: Florida Consumer Action Network is now urging a veto. The Consumer Federation of the Southeast, Consumer Federation of America, and ACORN have also joined the bandwagon since the initial post.

Update: Henry Troxler at the St. Petersburg Times has a column in which he hopes Gov. Crist will veto the bill.

Update: The Florida Media Project, the Alliance for Community Media, and The Education Channel are all supporting a veto, as are the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers. The U.S. Department of Justice, on the other hand, is supporting the bill, as part of the department’s “competition advocacy” (relating to antitrust law). The Orlando Sentinel has an editorial endorsing a veto.

In totally unrelated news, BellSouth spent more on lobbying than anyone else during the legislative session, more than $1 million — and that doesn’t even include the last month of the session, for which data are not yet available. The Miami Herald article calls the cable bill “the biggest special-interest food fight” of the session.