FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 18, 2012

NHMC To Oppose Anti-Consumer Legislation

In The California Assembly

SB 1161 Will Deregulate The Phone Companies And Leave Consumers Unprotected

Pasadena, CA - June 18, 2012 - Today, the National Hispanic Media Coalition ("NHMC") will join a number of organizations from across California - such as the Center for Rural Strategies, The Utility Reform Network ("TURN") and the Greenlining Institute - to urge the state Assembly to reject SB 1161, a bill that would deregulate the telephone industry and strip the California Public Utilities Commission ("CPUC") of essential power to protect consumers from predatory practices.

On Monday, June 18, NHMC will testify at a public hearing before the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, in opposition to SB 1161. If passed and signed into law, SB 1161 will have a dramatic and devastating impact on consumers in California.

"It is time to halt this disastrous bill in its tracks. The people of California deserve and rely upon all of the protections that this bill seeks to remove, regardless of the means that they use to communicate with each other. Preemptive deregulation of emerging services is unnecessary at this time and this bill will not end well for consumers," said Inez Gonzalez, Executive Vice President of NHMC, who will be representing NHMC before the Committee.

Today's hearing is open to the public. Join NHMC and others in Sacramento to urge the Assembly to look out for consumers, not big phone companies, and vote against SB 1161!

Hearing details:

Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Hearing

Monday, June 18 at 3:00 PM

State Capitol, Room 437

1315 10th Street

Sacramento, California

About NHMC

The National Hispanic Media Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit, media advocacy and civil rights organization established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to educate and influence media corporations on the importance of including U.S. Latinos at all levels of employment; challenge media that carelessly exploit negative Latino stereotypes; and scrutinize and opine on media and telecommunications policy issues before the Federal Communications Commission and in Congress. Learn more at http://www.nhmc.org. Receive real-time updates on twitter @NHMC.

Please direct media inquiries to:

Inez Gonzalez

Executive Vice President

C: (213) 718-0740

igonzalez@nhmc.org