§ 88*2 — Catv franchises prohibited

* § 88. Catv franchises prohibited. 1. As used in this section, the\nfollowing words shall have the following meanings unless the context\nshall indicate another or different meaning.\n (a) "Catv company". Any individual, partnership, association or\ncorporation owning, controlling, operating, managing or leasing a catv\nsystem.\n (b) "Catv system". Any facility which receives and amplifies the\nsignals broadcast by one or more television stations and redistributes\nsuch signals by wire, cable or other means, or which distributes signals\nit originates or which are originated by another for viewing by\nsubscribers, whether the wire, cable or other facilities are owned or\nleased. A "catv system" shall not include:\n i. the poles or other facilities of any telephone corporation used to\nprovide channel service as a common carrier,\n ii. a system serving not more than two hundred fifty subscribers, or\n iii. a master antenna system servicing subscribers situated on\nproperty under common ownership.\n (c) "Facility". Any real property, antennae, poles, wires, cables,\nconduits, amplifiers, instruments, equipment, appliances, fixtures, and\nother personal property used by a catv company in providing service to\nits subscribers including that constructed in whole or in part in, on,\nunder or over any highway or other public place.\n (d) "Franchise". Any authorization, permit, license or privilege\ngranted by a municipal corporation to construct, operate, maintain or\nmanage a catv system in the state.\n 2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, until April first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-three, no municipal corporation may give, grant\nor award to any individual, partnership, association or corporation,\nupon any terms or conditions whatever, any franchise for the purpose of\nconstructing, erecting, operating or maintaining any catv system in the\nstate.\n 3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for a period of one\nyear from the effective date of this section, no individual,\npartnership, association or corporation shall construct, erect, operate\nor maintain a nonfranchised catv system which is not in actual and\nlawful operation on the effective date of this section, or enter into a\ncontract for the construction, erection, operation or maintenance of\nsuch a nonfranchised catv system; nor shall any catv company engaged in\nactual and lawful nonfranchised catv operations on the effective date of\nthis section expand the area of its operations during such period of\ntime.\n 4. Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of this section\nshall not affect the authority of any catv company to operate pursuant\nto any franchise heretofore awarded by any municipal corporation,\nprovided however, that all transfer, renewal or amendment of a franchise\n(whenever awarded by a municipal corporation) taking effect for a period\nof one year from the effective date of this section shall be subject to\nreview and confirmation by such department or agency of the state as may\nhereafter be authorized to regulate the catv industry and the awarding\nof catv franchises, in accordance with the provisions of the act so\nauthorizing such state department or agency to regulate.\n 5. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection or part of this\nsection shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be\ninvalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the\nremainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,\nsentence, paragraph, subsection or part thereof directly involved in the\ncontroversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.\n * NB There are 2 § 88's\n