§ 21-801

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2030) Sec. 21-801. Applicable fees payable to the local unit of government. (a) Prior to offering cable service or video service in a local unit of government's jurisdiction, a holder shall notify the local unit of government. The notice shall be given to the local unit of government at least 10 days before the holder begins to offer cable service or video service within the boundaries of that local unit of government. (b) In any local unit of government in which a holder offers cable service or video service on a commercial basis, the holder shall be liable for and pay the service provider fee to the local unit of government. The local unit of government shall adopt an ordinance imposing such a fee. The holder's liability for the fee shall commence on the first day of the calendar month that is at least 30 days after the holder receives such ordinance. For any such ordinance adopted on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the holder's liability shall commence on the first day of the calendar month that is at least 30 days after the adoption of such ordinance. The ordinance shall be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to the address listed on the holder's application provided to the local unit of government pursuant to item (6) of subsection (b) of Section 21-401 of this Act. The fee authorized by this Section shall be 5% of gross revenues or the same as the fee paid to the local unit of government by any incumbent cable operator providing cable service. The payment of the service provider fee shall be due on a quarterly basis, 45 days after the close of the calendar quarter. If mailed, the fee is considered paid on the date it is postmarked. Except as provided in this Article, the local unit of government may not demand any additional fees or charges from the holder and may not demand the use of any other calculation method other than allowed under this Article. (c) For purposes of this Article, "gross revenues" means all consideration of any kind or nature, including, without limitation, cash, credits, property, and in-kind contributions received by the holder for the operation of a cable or video system to provide cable service or video service within the holder's cable service or video service area within the local unit of government's jurisdiction. (1) Gross revenues shall include the following: (i) Recurring charges for cable service or video service. (ii) Event-based charges for cable service or video service, including, but not limited to, pay-per-view and video-on-demand charges. (iii) Rental of set-top boxes and other cable service or video service equipment. (iv) Service charges related to the provision of cable service or video service, including, but not limited to, activation, installation, and repair charges. (v) Administrative charges related to the provision of cable service or video service, including but not limited to service order and service termination charges. (vi) Late payment fees or charges, insufficient funds check charges, and other charges assessed to recover the costs of collecting delinquent payments. (vii) A pro rata portion of all revenue derived by the holder or its affiliates pursuant to compensation arrangements for advertising or for promotion or exhibition of any products or services derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide cable service or video service within the local unit of government's jurisdiction. The allocation shall be based on the number of subscribers in the local unit of government divided by the total number of subscribers in relation to the relevant regional or national compensation arrangement. (viii) Compensation received by the holder that is derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide cable service or video service with respect to commissions that are received by the holder as compensation for promotion or exhibition of any products or services on the holder's network, such as a "home shopping" or similar channel, subject to item (ix) of this paragraph (1). (ix) In the case of a cable service or video service that is bundled or integrated functionally with other services, capabilities, or applications, the portion of the holder's revenue attributable to the other services, capabilities, or applications shall be included in gross revenue unless the holder can reasonably identify the division or exclusion of the revenue from its books and records that are kept in the regular course of business. (x) The service provider fee permitted by subsection (b) of this Section. (2) Gross revenues do not include any of the following: (i) Revenues not actually received, even if billed, such as bad debt, subject to item (vi) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (c). (ii) Refunds, discounts, or other price adjustments that reduce the amount of gross revenues received by the holder of the State-issued authorization to the extent the refund, rebate, credit, or discount is attributable to cable service or video service. (iii) Regardless of whether the services are bundled, packaged, or functionally integrated with cable service or video service, any revenues received from services not classified as cable service or video service, including, without limitation, revenue received from telecommunications services, information services, or the provision of directory or Internet advertising, including yellow pages, white pages, banner advertisement, and electronic publishing, or any other revenues attributed by the holder to noncable service or nonvideo service in accordance with the holder's books and records and records kept in the regular course of business and any applicable laws, rules, regulations, standards, or orders. (iv) The sale of cable services or video services for resale in which the purchaser is required to collect the service provider fee from the purchaser's subscribers to the extent the purchaser certifies in writing that it will resell the service within the local unit of government's jurisdiction and pay the fee permitted by subsection (b) of this Section with respect to the service. (v) Any tax or fee of general applicability imposed upon the subscribers or the transaction by a city, State, federal, or any other governmental entity and collected by the holder of the State-issued authorization and required to be remitted to the taxing entity, including sales and use taxes. (vi) Security deposits collected from subscribers. (vii) Amounts paid by subscribers to "home shopping" or similar vendors for merchandise sold through any home shopping channel offered as part of the cable service or video service. (viii) Any revenues received from video programming accessed via a service that enables users to access content, information, electronic mail, or other services offered over the Internet, including Internet streaming content. (3) Revenue of an affiliate of a holder shall be included in the calculation of gross revenues to the extent the treatment of the revenue as revenue of the affiliate rather than the holder has the effect of evading the payment of the fee permitted by subsection (b) of this Section which would otherwise be paid by the cable service or video service. (d)(1) Except for a holder providing cable service that is subject to the fee in subsection (i) of this Section, the holder shall pay to the local unit of government or the entity designated by that local unit of government to manage public, education, and government access, upon request as support for public, education, and government access, a fee equal to no less than (i) 1% of gross revenues or (ii) if greater, the percentage of gross revenues that incumbent cable operators pay to the local unit of government or its designee for public, education, and government access support in the local unit of government's jurisdiction. For purposes of item (ii) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (d), the percentage of gross revenues that all incumbent cable operators pay shall be equal to the annual sum of the payments that incumbent cable operators in the service area are obligated to pay by franchises and agreements or by contracts with the local government designee for public, education and government access in effect on January 1, 2007, including the total of any lump sum payments required to be made over the term of each franchise or agreement divided by the number of years of the applicable term, divided by the annual sum of such incumbent cable operator's or operators' gross revenues during the immediately prior calendar year. The sum of payments includes any payments that an incumbent cable operator is required to pay pursuant to item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 21-301. (2) A local unit of government may require all holders of a State-issued authorization and all cable operators franchised by that local unit of government on June 30, 2007 (the effective date of this Section) in the franchise area to provide to the local unit of government, or to the entity designated by that local unit of government to manage public, education, and government access, information sufficient to calculate the public, education, and government access equivalent fee and any credits under paragraph (1) of this subsection (d). (3) The fee shall be due on a quarterly basis and paid 45 days after the close of the calendar quarter. Each payment shall include a statement explaining the basis for the calculation of the fee. If mailed, the fee is considered paid on the date it is postmarked. The liability of the holder for payment of the fee under this subsection shall commence on the same date as the payment of the service provider fee pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section. (e) The holder may identify and collect the amount of the service provider fee as a separate line item on the regular bill of each subscriber. (f) The holder may identify and collect the amount of the public, education, and government programming support fee as a separate line item on the regular bill of each subscriber. (g) All determinations and computations under this Section shall be made pursuant to the definition of gross revenues set forth in this Section and shall be made pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles. (h) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed to exempt a holder from any tax that is or may later be imposed by the local unit of government, including any tax that is or may later be required to be paid by or through the holder with respect to cable service or video service. A State-issued authorization shall not affect any requirement of the holder with respect to payment of the local unit of government's simplified municipal telecommunications tax or any other tax as it applies to any telephone service provided by the holder. A State-issued authorization shall not affect any requirement of the holder with respect to payment of the local unit of government's 911 or E911 fees, taxes, or charges. (i) Except for a municipality having a population of 2,000,000 or more, the fee imposed under paragraph (1) of subsection (d) by a local unit of government against a holder who is a cable operator shall be as follows: (1) the fee shall be collected and paid only for capital costs that are considered lawful under Subchapter VI of the federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and as implemented by the Federal Communications Commission; (2) the local unit of government shall impose any fee by ordinance; and (3) the fee may not exceed 1% of gross revenue; if, however, on the date that an incumbent cable operator files an application under Section 21-401, the incumbent cable operator is operating under a franchise agreement that imposes a fee for support for capital costs for public, education, and government access facilities obligations in excess of 1% of gross revenue, then the cable operator shall continue to provide support for capital costs for public, education, and government access facilities obligations at the rate stated in such agreement.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-360, eff. 1-1-24 .)