Seniors May No Longer Receive Help with Cable Bill

Earlier this week, Gov. Chris Christie called a five-year-old law to help low-income senior citizens and disabled people pay their cable TV bills a "dumb idea." The bill, enacted by former Gov. Jon Corzine but never implemented, was meant to assist those and people with disabilities who enrolled in a low-cost prescription program.

"When has cable TV become a constitutional right, now we are going to pay for, in this time of budget constraints?"  a report in The Record quotes the governor as saying.

On Wednesday, Mercer County Senator Shirley K. Turner announced that she will introduce legislation to repeal the tax cable companies have been paying into a program that was set up to provide financial assistance to senior citizens and customers with disabilities, but was never actually used.

"This fund was created to help low-income residents pay their cable bills..." said Turner (D-Mercer) in a press release. "It's unfair to continue to expect anyone to pay a tax if the funds collected are not being used for their intended purpose, even cable companies. If the money won't go to low-income residents, then we need to stop collecting the tax. And if cable companies can use those newfound savings to reduce bills even a little for all their cable customers, then it would be well worth it."

Since its creation, cable companies have paid $9.2 million into the fund but in the current fiscal year, which began last July 1, the governor diverted the fund's balance to help shore up his state budget.

The state Senate will next convene on Feb. 14 where Turner has stated she will formally introduce legislation repealing the current law.