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The Legislature, controlled by Phoenix lawmakers, doesn't have a long track record of being generous to Tucson.

So how is a bill giving Tucson more than $1 billion over 30 years — about $650 million of which would come from Maricopa County — sailing through the Legislature?

Much of the answer appears to stem from Tucson's newfound willingness to let Cox Communications, the state's dominant cable TV provider, dump half its education, government and public access obligations — a potential death knell for some local public channels, including Access Tucson, unless the city wants to pick up the tab.

That, and a touch of election-year politics, appear to be the wind behind the extension of the Downtown Rio Nuevo special tax district from 10 to 40 years — approved Tuesday by the House of Representatives by a vote of 35 to 18. The bill now goes to the Senate.

Several lawmakers and Tucson's lobbyist said House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix — who also signed onto the Rio Nuevo extension — asked Tucson officials to sit down with Cox and work out issues related to the franchise agreement.

Besides Tucson, Cox operates in Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale and half a dozen other cities in Maricopa County, as well as throughout Southern Arizona. The change in public-access requirements and franchise-fee limits would apply to all of them.

"He never told us what kind of deal to make," said Tucson lobbyist Mary Okoye. "The speaker just said talk to each other. We never got direction that this is what you need to do to get the (Rio Nuevo) bill passed."

Sen. Toni Hellon, R-Tucson, said she's been told the Rio Nuevo bill is tied to a number of other bills, most notably the cable TV bill.

"The best info I have is that it is being coupled with the cable bill," Hellon said. "The speaker is clearly in favor of it. The speaker is clearly behind it. Otherwise it wouldn't have moved like it has."

Rep. Tom Prezelski, however, said Weiers simply asked the two sides to talk. "There's a rumor that these two things are connected, but they're not," Prezelski said. "I don't see a deal having been cut."

Weiers was not available for comment. His spokesman, Barrett Marson, said Weiers would like to get the cable bill resolved this session, but that it wasn't necessarily a major issue for him.

Rep. Steve Huffman, the original sponsor of the Rio Nuevo bill, also said there's no link to the cable bill and questioned whether Phoenix lawmakers cared enough about the cable bill to use it as a bargaining chip for Rio Nuevo. He did say, however, that Weiers has made it clear he wants resolution on the cable bill.

Huffman's interest in the Rio Nuevo extension to burnish his credentials for his run for the U.S. House of Representatives was also a factor, as he pushed hard for it and was able to get the bill assigned to the Ways and Means Committee, which he chairs, and touts it on his campaign Web site.

He acknowledged there has been political talk he's backing the Rio Nuevo extension to boost his campaign, but said the truth is running for Congress while pushing a piece of legislation can hurt you as much as help you.

Okoye said having the bill assigned to a friendly committee chaired by Huffman and having support of leadership — in this case the speaker — never hurts your chances.

Tucson's agreement with Cox currently provides for nine public-access, education and government (PEG) channels, limits the franchise fees to 5 percent of gross revenue, and calls for Cox to pay for the programming on the PEG channels, said City Budget Director Jim Cameron.

Cameron said the House bill would cost the city five PEG channels, and a total of $1.5 million in 2008, $2.2 million by 2010 and $2.4 million by 2011. "If the city wanted to continue to have those" public channels, Cameron said, "we would have to pay those fees" out of the general fund.

Sam Behrend, the executive director of Access Tucson, said that he was afraid the cable issue might get ensnared in the debate over extending the downtown Rio Nuevo district. He said the proposed cuts would be "an extremely bleak scenario for Access Tucson."

"I've heard there might be some vote trading going on," Behrend said. "I hate to think we're going to be sold out for (Rio Nuevo). I'm depressed about it."

While no one has told him directly that the two issues are linked, Behrend said many city officials and lobbyists keep saying how they are under "extreme pressure" on the cable bill.

Last year, Tucson was one of the cable bill's most ardent critics, Behrend said. Now despite the bill costing the city $2 million a year and forcing it to flip the switch on five public channels, Tucson officially has a position of "neutral."

Huffman said Gov. Janet Napolitano could still veto the cable bill even if it passes the Legislature. That, however, is much less likely if the city of Tucson — the most vociferous opponent last year — doesn't lobby against the bill.