Substitute Senate Bill No. 278
Special Act No. 22-23
AN ACT CONCERNING A STUDY OF COMMUNITY ACCESS
PROGRAMMING OPERATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) The chairperson of the Public
Utilities Regulatory Authority shall conduct a study regarding the
operations of certified third-party nonprofit organizations responsible
for community access operations and facilities. Such study shall include,
but need not be limited to, a review of community access operations and
current funding structures for both community access organizations'
operational and capital needs. The study shall include, as a prerequisite
to any recommendations related to the funding structures of community
access organizations, an analysis and recommendations related to the
state-wide consolidation of community access operations so that any
recommended increase to the remaining community access
organizations' operational and capital budgets is at minimum net
neutral to the average funding collected from the applicable franchise
area in the fiscal years ending June 30, 2019, June 30, 2020, and June 30,
2021, to support community access organizations in the same franchise
area. In conducting the study and making associated recommendations,
the chairperson shall also consider the degree of financial support
provided by the communities served by the community access
organizations, the appropriateness of community access organization Substitute Senate Bill No. 278
Special Act No. 22-23 2 of 2
personnel's salaries, and the degree of support provided to the
community access organizations through moneys made available
pursuant to section 16-331cc of the general statutes. The chairperson of
the authority shall report the results of the study, including any
recommendations, to the joint standing committee of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy and
technology not later than December 15, 2023.