Bill Text: CT HB05473 | 2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Public Access Operations And The Periodic Review Of Video Providers.
Spectrum:
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-04-23 - Senate Calendar Number 422 [HB05473 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2012-HB05473-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 5473 | |||
February Session, 2012 |
LCO No. 1731 | |||
*01731_______ET_* |
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Referred to Committee on Energy and Technology |
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Introduced by: |
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(ET) |
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AN ACT CONCERNING PUBLIC ACCESS OPERATIONS AND THE PERIODIC REVIEW OF VIDEO PROVIDERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2012) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall conduct a performance review of every person, entity or company holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide community antenna television service, a certificate of cable franchise authority or a certificate of video franchise authority, as such terms are defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, to review the state of the industry and to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of each such certificate as applicable. The performance review may include, but not be limited to, issues concerning customer service, community access providers, management of outages, service to handicapped and low-income customers, cooperation with the authority and such person's, entity's or company's funding and budget. After the initial review required pursuant to this section, the authority shall conduct subsequent reviews every five years. Each performance review pursuant to this section shall be conducted as a contested case and include an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes. The Attorney General and the Office of Consumer Counsel shall be parties to any such contested case. The authority may designate the applicable advisory council as an intervenor in any such contested case.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2012) Any company or nonprofit organization, including any municipality, responsible for community access operations that receives funds pursuant to subsection (k) of section 16-331a of the general statutes, may use such funds for the creation and development, including, but not limited to, labor and staff expenses, of town-specific community access programming.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Any community antenna television company or nonprofit organization providing community access operations that supplied original programming from locally run operations and provided funding to town-specific programming on January 1, 2008, shall continue to fund town-specific programming in such proportions to funding for original programming from locally run operations as of January 1, 2008.
Sec. 4. Section 16-331a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2012):
(a) As used in this section, "multichannel video programming distributor" means a multichannel video programming distributor, as defined in 47 CFR 76.1300, as from time to time amended, and includes an owner of an open video system, as defined in 47 CFR 76.1500, as from time to time amended.
(b) Each company holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide community antenna television service, a certificate of cable franchise authority or a certificate of video franchise authority, or any organization or entity selected pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, in consultation with the franchise's or service area's advisory council, shall provide facilities, equipment, and technical and managerial support to enable the production of meaningful community access programming within its franchise or service area, provided nothing in this subsection shall require any such company holding a certificate of video franchise authority to provide studios for community access operations. Each such company shall include all its community access channels in its basic service package. Each such company, [or] organization or entity shall annually review its rules, regulations, policies and procedures governing the provision of community access programming. Such review shall include a period for public comment, a public meeting and consultation with the franchise's or service area's advisory council.
(c) If a community-based nonprofit organization or other entity in a franchise or service area desires to assume responsibility for community access operations, it shall [, upon timely petition to the department, be granted intervenor status in a franchise proceeding held pursuant to this section. The department] petition the authority. The authority shall assign [this] such responsibility to the most qualified community-based nonprofit organization or [the company] entity based on the following criteria: (1) The recommendations of the advisory council and of the municipalities in the franchise or service area; (2) a review of the organization's or [the company's] entity's performance in providing community access programming; (3) the operating plan submitted by the organization [and the company] or entity for providing community access programming; (4) the experience in community access programming of the organization or entity; (5) the organization's [and the company's] or entity's proposed budget, including expenses for salaries, consultants, attorneys, and other professionals; (6) the quality and quantity of the programming to be created, promoted or facilitated by the organization or [the company] or entity; (7) a review of the organization's or entity's procedures to ensure compliance with federal and state law, including the regulations of Connecticut state agencies; and (8) any other criteria determined to be relevant by the [department] authority. If the [department] authority selects an organization or entity to provide community access operations, the company holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide community antenna television service, a certificate of cable franchise authority or a certificate of video franchise authority in such franchise or service area shall provide financial and technical support to the organization or entity in an amount to be determined by the [department] authority. On petition of the Office of Consumer Counsel, [or] the [franchise's] advisory council of any franchise or service area or any organization or entity that desires to assume responsibility for community access operations for a franchise or service area in which another organization or entity currently provides such operations pursuant to this section, or on its own motion, the [department] authority shall hold a hearing, with notice, on the ability of the organization or entity currently providing community access operations to continue its responsibility for [community access] such operations. In its decision following such a hearing, the [department] authority may reassign the responsibility for community access operations to another organization or the company in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
(d) Each company, [or] organization or entity shall conduct outreach programs and promote its community access services. Such outreach and promotion may include, but not be limited to (1) broadcasting cross-channel video announcements, (2) distributing information throughout the franchise or service area and not solely to its subscribers, (3) including community access information in its regular marketing publications, (4) broadcasting character-generated text messages or video announcements on barker or access channels, (5) making speaking engagements, (6) holding open receptions at its community access facilities, and (7) in multitown franchise or service areas, encouraging the formation and development of local community access studios operated by volunteers or nonprofit operating groups.
(e) Each company, [or] organization or entity shall adopt for its community access programming a scheduling policy which encourages programming diversity. Said scheduling policy shall include (1) limiting a program, except instructional access and governmental access programming, to thirteen weeks in any one time slot when a producer of another program requests the same time slot, (2) procedures for resolving program scheduling conflicts, and (3) other measures which the company, [or] organization or entity deems appropriate. A company, [or] organization or entity may consider the availability of a substantially similar time slot when making community access programming scheduling decisions. Each company, or organization or entity responsible for community access operations pursuant to this section, shall make any final scheduling decisions.
(f) In the case of any initial, transfer or renewal franchise proceeding held on or after October 1, 1990, the [department] authority may, on its own initiative, in the first six months of the second, fifth, eighth and eleventh years of the franchise term, review and evaluate the company's or the organization's provision of community access programming. The [department] authority shall conduct such review or evaluation in any such proceeding held on or after October 1, 1990, if the Consumer Counsel or any interested party petitions the [department] authority for such a review during the first six months of the review year. During any such review year, if an organization desires to provide community access operations it shall petition the [department] authority and the [department] authority shall follow the procedures and standards described in subsection (c) of this section in determining whether to assign to the organization the responsibility to provide such operations. No community access programming produced using the facilities or staff of [an organization or] a company, organization or entity providing community access operations shall be utilized for commercial purposes without express prior written agreement between the producer of such programming and the organization or company providing community access operations the facilities or staff of which were used in the production of the programming. Such an agreement may include, without limitation, a provision regarding the producer and the company or organization sharing any profit realized from such programming so utilized. An organization providing community access operations shall consult with the company in the franchise area prior to making such an agreement.
(g) No organization, entity or company providing community access operations shall exercise editorial control over such programming, except as to programming that is obscene and except as otherwise allowed by applicable state and federal law. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit such organization, entity or company from limiting the hours during which adult programs may be aired. Such organization or company may consult with the advisory council in determining what constitutes an adult program for purposes of this subsection.
(h) Upon the request of the Office of Consumer Counsel or the franchise's or service area's advisory council, and for good cause shown the [department] authority shall require an organization or entity responsible for community access operations to have an independent audit conducted at the expense of the organization or entity. For purposes of this subsection, "good cause" may include, but not be limited to, the failure or refusal of such company, [or] organization or entity (1) to account for and reimburse the community access programming budget for its commercial use of community access programming facilities, equipment or staff, or for the allocation of such facilities, equipment or staff to functions not directly related to the community access operations of the franchise, (2) to carry over unexpended community access programming budget accounts at the end of each fiscal year, (3) to properly maintain community access programming facilities or equipment in good repair, or (4) to plan for the replacement of community access programming equipment made obsolete by technological advances. In response to any such request, the [department] authority shall state, in writing, the reasons for its determination.
(i) Each company, [and] nonprofit organization or entity providing community access operations shall report annually to the [department] authority on or before February fifteenth. The [department] authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to specify the information which shall be required in such report. Such information shall be necessary for the [department] authority to carry out the provisions of this section.
(j) The advisory council shall review all community access programming of a company, [or] organization or entity within the franchise or service area which programming has been the subject of a complaint.
(k) The [department] authority shall establish the amount that the company, [or] organization or entity responsible for community access operations shall receive for such operations from subscribers and from multichannel video programming distributors. The amount shall be five dollars per subscriber per year, adjusted annually by a percentage reflecting the increase or decrease of the consumer price index for the preceding calendar year, provided the [department] authority may increase or decrease the amount by not more than forty per cent of [said] such amount for the subscribers and all multichannel video programming distributors within a franchise area after considering (1) the criteria set forth in subsection (c) of this section, (2) the level of public interest in community access operations in the franchise or service area, (3) the level of community need for educational access programming, (4) the level and breadth of participation in community access operations, (5) the adequacy of existing facilities, equipment and training programs to meet the current and future needs of the franchise or service area, and (6) any other factors determined to be relevant by the [department] authority. Prior to increasing or decreasing [said] such amount, the [department] authority shall give notice and opportunity for a hearing to the company or multichannel video programming distributor and, where applicable, the organization or entity responsible for community access programming. The amount shall be assessed once each year for each end user premises connected to an open video system, irrespective of the number of multichannel video programming distributors providing programming over the open video system. When the [department] authority issues, transfers or renews a certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate a community antenna television system, the [department] authority shall include in the franchise agreement the amount that the company, [or] organization or entity responsible for community access operations shall receive for such operations from subscribers. The [department] authority shall conduct a proceeding to establish the amount that the company, [or] organization or entity responsible for community access operations shall receive for such operations from multichannel video programming distributors and the method of payment of [said] such amount. The [department] authority shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this subsection.
(l) An organization or entity assigned responsibility for community access operations which organization or entity ceases to provide such operations shall transfer its assets to the successor organization or entity assigned such responsibility or, if no successor organization or entity is assigned such responsibility, to another nonprofit organization or entity within the franchise area selected by the [department] authority.
(m) On petition or its own motion, the [department] authority shall determine whether a franchise area is subject to effective competition, as defined in 47 USC 543, as from time to time amended. Upon a determination that a franchise area is subject to effective competition, the provisions of this section shall apply to multichannel video programming distributors operating in the franchise area, provided (1) where multichannel video programming distributors provide programming over a single open video system, the provisions of this section shall apply jointly and not separately to all such distributors providing programming on the same open video system, and (2) the provisions of subsection (k) of this section shall apply to multichannel video programming distributors whether or not such distributors operate in a franchise area subject to such effective competition.
(n) No community antenna television company, [or] nonprofit organization or entity providing community access operations shall refuse to engage in good faith negotiation regarding interconnection of such operations with other community antenna television companies serving the same area. No school or facility owned or leased by a municipal government that possesses community access operations equipment shall unreasonably deny interconnection with or the use of such equipment to any such company, [or] nonprofit organization or entity. At the request of such a company, [or] nonprofit organization or entity providing community access operations, the [department] authority may facilitate the negotiation between such company, [or] nonprofit organization or entity and any other community antenna television company regarding interconnection of community access operations.
(o) Each company, [or] organization or entity shall consult with its advisory council in the formation of a community access programming policy, the adoption of the community access programming budget and the allocation of capital equipment and community access programming resources.
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There shall be a Broadband Internet Coordinating Council, which shall include representatives from both the private and public sectors. The council shall consist of ten members, two of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, two of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, two of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate and one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. One of each of the two members appointed by the Governor, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall have specific expertise in the area of telecommunications. Members of the council shall serve without compensation, except for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Members shall serve on the council for terms of two years each and no member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. The chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or the chairperson's designee, and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee, shall be ex-officio members of the council without vote and shall attend its meetings. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fifty per cent of all meetings during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned. The president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall jointly choose a chairperson and a vice-chairperson to act in the chairperson's absence.
(b) The council shall meet at least quarterly, commencing on or before September 1, 2012. A majority of the members in office shall constitute a quorum.
(c) The duties of the council shall be to: (1) Monitor trends and developments in the state's efforts to develop a state-wide world-class communications infrastructure; and (2) issue any reports it deems necessary to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to technology.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2012 |
New section |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2012 |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
from passage |
New section |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2012 |
16-331a |
Sec. 5 |
from passage |
New section |
Statement of Purpose:
To review any person, entity or company holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide community antenna television service, a certificate of cable franchise authority or a certificate of video franchise authority, to ensure funding for certain programming, to clarify the procedure for changing public access providers and to reestablish the Broadband Internet Coordinating Council.
[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.]