LCO No. 1642 1 of 8
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 176
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1642
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)
AN ACT CONCERNING ES TABLISHMENT OF A FEE PAID BY
MULTICHANNEL VIDEO P ROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS TO
COMPANIES OR ORGANIZ ATIONS RESPONSIBLE F OR COMMUNITY
ACCESS PROGRAMMING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-331a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) As used in this section: [,] 3
(1) ["multichannel video programming distributor"] "Multichannel 4
video programming distributor" means a multichannel video 5
programming distributor, as defined in 47 CFR 76.1300, as from time to 6
time amended, and includes an owner of an open video system, as 7
defined in 47 CFR 76.1500, as from time to time amended; 8
(2) "Subscriber" means any residential or commercial customer who 9
purchases one or more of the following services (A) video streaming, (B) 10
Internet access, or (C) cable television; and 11
(3) "Video streaming" means the delivery of video content sent in 12 Raised Bill No. 176
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compressed form over the Internet and displayed by the viewer in real 13
time for a fee on a subscription basis. 14
(b) Each company or organization selected pursuant to subsection (c) 15
of this section, in consultation with the franchise's advisory council, 16
shall provide facilities, equipment, and technical and managerial 17
support to enable the production of meaningful community access 18
programming within its franchise area. Each company shall include all 19
its community access channels in its basic service package. Each 20
company or organization shall annually review its rules, regulations, 21
policies and procedures governing the provision of community access 22
programming. Such review shall include a period for public comment, 23
a public meeting and consultation with the franchise's advisory council. 24
(c) If a community-based nonprofit organization in a franchise area 25
desires to assume responsibility for community access operations, it 26
shall, upon timely petition to the authority, be granted intervenor status 27
in a franchise proceeding held pursuant to this section. The authority 28
shall assign this responsibility to the most qualified community-based 29
nonprofit organization or the company based on the following criteria: 30
(1) The recommendations of the advisory council and of the 31
municipalities in the franchise area; (2) a review of the organization's or 32
the company's performance in providing community access 33
programming; (3) the operating plan submitted by the organization and 34
the company for providing community access programming; (4) the 35
experience in community access programming of the organization; (5) 36
the organization's and the company's proposed budget, including 37
expenses for salaries, consultants, attorneys, and other professionals; (6) 38
the quality and quantity of the programming to be created, promoted or 39
facilitated by the organization or the company; (7) a review of the 40
organization's procedures to ensure compliance with federal and state 41
law, including the regulations of Connecticut state agencies; and (8) any 42
other criteria determined to be relevant by the authority. If the authority 43
selects an organization to provide community access operations, the 44
company shall provide financial and technical support to the 45
organization in an amount to be determined by the authority. On 46 Raised Bill No. 176
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petition of the Office of Consumer Counsel or the franchise's advisory 47
council or on its own motion, the authority shall hold a hearing, with 48
notice, on the ability of the organization to continue its responsibility for 49
community access operations. In its decision following such a hearing, 50
the authority may reassign the responsibility for community access 51
operations to another organization or the company in accordance with 52
the provisions of this subsection. 53
(d) Each company or organization shall conduct outreach programs 54
and promote its community access services. Such outreach and 55
promotion may include, but not be limited to (1) broadcasting cross-56
channel video announcements, (2) distributing information throughout 57
the franchise area and not solely to its subscribers, (3) including 58
community access information in its regular marketing publications, (4) 59
broadcasting character-generated text messages or video 60
announcements on barker or access channels, (5) making speaking 61
engagements, (6) holding open receptions at its community access 62
facilities, and (7) in multitown franchise areas, encouraging the 63
formation and development of local community access studios operated 64
by volunteers or nonprofit operating groups. 65
(e) Each company or organization shall adopt for its community 66
access programming a scheduling policy which encourages 67
programming diversity. Said scheduling policy shall include (1) limiting 68
a program, except instructional access and governmental access 69
programming, to thirteen weeks in any one time slot when a producer 70
of another program requests the same time slot, (2) procedures for 71
resolving program scheduling conflicts, and (3) other measures which 72
the company or organization deems appropriate. A company or 73
organization may consider the availability of a substantially similar time 74
slot when making community access programming scheduling 75
decisions. 76
(f) In the case of any initial, transfer or renewal franchise proceeding 77
held on or after October 1, 1990, the authority may, on its own initiative, 78
in the first six months of the second, fifth, eighth and eleventh years of 79 Raised Bill No. 176
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the franchise term, review and evaluate the company's or the 80
organization's provision of community access programming. The 81
authority shall conduct such review or evaluation in any such 82
proceeding held on or after October 1, 1990, if the Consumer Counsel or 83
any interested party petitions the authority for such a review during the 84
first six months of the review year. During any such review year, if an 85
organization desires to provide community access operations it shall 86
petition the authority and the authority shall follow the procedures and 87
standards described in subsection (c) of this section in determining 88
whether to assign to the organization the responsibility to provide such 89
operations. No community access programming produced using the 90
facilities or staff of an organization or company providing community 91
access operations shall be utilized for commercial purposes without 92
express prior written agreement between the producer of such 93
programming and the organization or company providing community 94
access operations the facilities or staff of which were used in the 95
production of the programming. Such an agreement may include, 96
without limitation, a provision regarding the producer and the 97
company or organization sharing any profit realized from such 98
programming so utilized. An organization providing community access 99
operations shall consult with the company in the franchise area prior to 100
making such an agreement. 101
(g) No organization or company providing community ac cess 102
operations shall exercise editorial control over such programming, 103
except as to programming that is obscene and except as otherwise 104
allowed by applicable state and federal law. This subsection shall not be 105
construed to prohibit such organization or company from limiting the 106
hours during which adult programs may be aired. Such organization or 107
company may consult with the advisory council in determining what 108
constitutes an adult program for purposes of this subsection. 109
(h) Upon the request of the Office of Consumer Counsel or the 110
franchise's advisory council, and for good cause shown the authority 111
shall require an organization responsible for community access 112
operations to have an independent audit conducted at the expense of 113 Raised Bill No. 176
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the organization. For purposes of this subsection, "good cause" may 114
include, but not be limited to, the failure or refusal of such organization 115
(1) to account for and reimburse the community access programming 116
budget for its commercial use of community access programming 117
facilities, equipment or staff, or for the allocation of such facilities, 118
equipment or staff to functions not directly related to the community 119
access operations of the franchise, (2) to carry over unexpended 120
community access programming budget accounts at the end of each 121
fiscal year, (3) to properly maintain community access programming 122
facilities or equipment in good repair, or (4) to plan for the replacement 123
of community access programming equipment made obsolete by 124
technological advances. In response to any such request, the authority 125
shall state, in writing, the reasons for its determination. 126
(i) Each company and nonprofit organization providing community 127
access operations shall report annually to the authority on or before 128
February fifteenth. The authority shall adopt regulations, in accordance 129
with the provisions of chapter 54, to specify the information which shall 130
be required in such report. Such information shall be necessary for the 131
authority to carry out the provisions of this section. 132
(j) The advisory council shall review all community access 133
programming of a company or organization within the franchise area 134
which programming has been the subject of a complaint. 135
(k) The authority shall establish the amount that the company or 136
organization responsible for community access operations shall receive 137
for such operations from subscribers and from multichannel video 138
programming distributors. The amount shall be five dollars per 139
subscriber per year, adjusted annually by a percentage reflecting the 140
increase or decrease of the consumer price index for the preceding 141
calendar year, provided the authority may increase or decrease the 142
amount by not more than forty per cent of said amount for the 143
subscribers and all multichannel video programming distributors 144
within a franchise area after considering (1) the criteria set forth in 145
subsection (c) of this section, (2) the level of public interest in community 146 Raised Bill No. 176
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access operations in the franchise area, (3) the level of community need 147
for educational access programming, (4) the level and breadth of 148
participation in community access operations, (5) the adequacy of 149
existing facilities, equipment and training programs to meet the current 150
and future needs of the franchise area, and (6) any other factors 151
determined to be relevant by the authority. Prior to increasing or 152
decreasing said amount, the authority shall give notice and opportunity 153
for a hearing to the company or multichannel video programming 154
distributor and, where applicable, the organization responsible for 155
community access programming. The amount shall be assessed once 156
each year for each end user premises connected to an open video 157
system, irrespective of the number of multichannel video programming 158
distributors providing programming over the open video system. When 159
the authority issues, transfers or renews a certificate of public 160
convenience and necessity to operate a community antenna television 161
system, the authority shall include in the franchise agreement the 162
amount that the company or organization responsible for community 163
access operations shall receive for such operations from subscribers. The 164
authority shall conduct a proceeding to establish the amount that the 165
company or organization responsible for community access operations 166
shall receive for such operations from multichannel video programming 167
distributors and the method of payment of said amount. The authority 168
shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to implement the 169
provisions of this subsection. For any subscriber of multiple services, as 170
described in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, the 171
company or organization responsible for community access operations 172
shall receive only one payment from the subscriber pursuant to this 173
subsection. 174
(l) An organization assigned responsibility for community access 175
operations which organization ceases to provide such operations shall 176
transfer its assets to the successor organization assigned such 177
responsibility or, if no successor organization is assigned such 178
responsibility, to another nonprofit organization within the franchise 179
area selected by the authority. 180 Raised Bill No. 176
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(m) On petition or its own motion, the authority shall determine 181
whether a franchise area is subject to effective competition, as defined 182
in 47 USC 543, as from time to time amended. Upon a determination 183
that a franchise area is subject to effective competition, the provisions of 184
this section shall apply to multichannel video programming distributors 185
operating in the franchise area, provided (1) where multichannel video 186
programming distributors provide programming over a single open 187
video system, the provisions of this section shall apply jointly and not 188
separately to all such distributors providing programming on the same 189
open video system, and (2) the provisions of subsection (k) of this 190
section shall apply to multichannel video programming distributors 191
whether or not such distributors operate in a franchise area subject to 192
such effective competition. 193
(n) No community antenna television company or nonprofit 194
organization providing community access operations shall refuse to 195
engage in good faith negotiation regarding interconnection of such 196
operations with other community antenna television companies serving 197
the same area. No school or facility owned or leased by a municipal 198
government that possesses community access operations equipment 199
shall unreasonably deny interconnection with or the use of such 200
equipment to any such company or nonprofit organization. At the 201
request of such a company or nonprofit organization providing 202
community access operations, the authority may facilitate the 203
negotiation between such company or organization and any other 204
community antenna television company regarding interconnection of 205
community access operations. 206
(o) Each company or organization shall consult with its advisory 207
council in the formation of a community access programming policy, 208
the adoption of the community access programming budget and the 209
allocation of capital equipment and community access programming 210
resources. 211 Raised Bill No. 176
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 16-331a
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) define "subscriber" and "video streaming", (2) require the Public
Utilities Regulatory Authority to establish a fee paid by subscribers of
video streaming, Internet access and cable television, and (3) limit the
applicable fee to one household per purchased service.
[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.]