Bill Text: CT HB05243 | 2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning The Listing Of Taxes And Fees On Cable Bills.

Sponsorship: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-26 - Public Hearing 03/01 [HB05243 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2016-HB05243-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 5243
February Session, 2016		LCO No. 1229
		*01229_______ET_*
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)

AN ACT CONCERNING THE LISTING OF TAXES AND FEES ON CABLE BILLS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 16-333l of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2016):

(b) Each such company shall provide each subscriber with a description of the company's billing practices at the time of the initial subscription and at least annually thereafter. Such description shall include billing period and frequency, security deposit requirements, late payment charges, returned check charges, credits for service outages, pay-per-view billing procedures, charges and billing procedures for the use of addressable converters, traps or other devices or services which enable subscribers to voluntarily block transmission of specific programming to their homes or places of business and such other items as the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may require. Each company shall file a copy of its billing practices with the authority and shall give notice to the authority and each subscriber not less than forty-five days prior to implementing any changes in such practices. Every bill to subscribers of a community antenna television service shall contain (1) the date on which any individually chargeable service is rendered, (2) each rate or charge levied, (3) the amount due for the current billing period separate from any prior balance due, (4) the specific date by which payment is due, (5) such other items as the authority may require, (6) the company's telephone numbers, including any toll-free numbers, (7) the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority's consumer assistance telephone number, [and] (8) the mailing address of the company's advisory council, and (9) each tax, including the applicable tax rate, and fee levied. Each company shall provide each subscriber, quarterly, with a summary of the procedures for resolving subscriber complaints and for providing refund or credit for service interruptions, pursuant to section 16-333e, and a notice indicating that, pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16-333i, the company is required to restore interrupted service not later than twenty-four hours after being notified by a subscriber that service has been interrupted. Each bill insert or letter to subscribers, other than promotional material, shall contain the company's telephone numbers, including any toll-free numbers or any other free calling option, as approved by the authority and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority's consumer assistance telephone number. Each advisory council, in conjunction with the company, shall notify subscribers of the time and place of any upcoming advisory council meeting, of any vacancies that may exist on the advisory council and of the name of the council chairperson and address of the advisory council. The notification may be provided via the community antenna television system at a sufficient frequency that subscribers may reasonably be expected to become aware of the meeting or by publishing on a quarterly basis the information in a newspaper having general circulation within each municipality in the franchise area.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	July 1, 2016	16-333l(b)

Statement of Purpose:

To require cable companies to list taxes and fees on cable bills.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]