§ 215 — Duties of the commission in respect to cable television companies

§ 215. Duties of the commission in respect to cable television\ncompanies. The commission shall:\n 1. Develop and maintain a statewide plan for development of cable\ntelevision services, setting forth the objectives which the commission\ndeems to be of regional and state concern;\n 2. To the extent permitted by, and not contrary to applicable federal\nlaw and rules and regulations:\n (a) prescribe standards for procedures and practices which\nmunicipalities shall follow in granting franchises, which standards\nshall provide for (i) the issuance of a public invitation to compete for\nthe franchise; (ii) the filing of all franchise applications and related\ndocuments as public records, with reasonable notice to the public that\nsuch records are open to inspection and examination during reasonable\nbusiness hours; (iii) the holding of a public hearing, upon reasonable\nnotice to the public and the commission, at which the applicants and\ntheir proposals shall be examined and members of the public and\ninterested parties are afforded a reasonable opportunity to express\ntheir views thereon; (iv) the rendition of a written report by the\nmunicipality, made available to the public, setting forth the reasons\nfor its decision in awarding the franchise; and (v) such other\nprocedural standards as the commission may deem necessary or appropriate\nto assure maximum public participation and competition and to protect\nthe public interest;\n (b) prescribe minimum standards for inclusion in franchises, including\nmaximum initial and renewal terms; minimum channel capacity; provisions\nregarding access to, and facilities to make use of, channels for\neducation and public service programs; a requirement that no such\nfranchise may be exclusive; standards necessary or appropriate to\nprotect the interests of viewers of free broadcast television and the\npublic generally, which prohibit or limit cable television companies\nfrom prohibiting or entering into agreements prohibiting the sale or\nother transfer of rights for the simultaneous or subsequent transmission\nover free broadcast television of any program originated or transmitted\nover cable television; and such other standards for inclusion in\nfranchises as the commission shall deem necessary or appropriate to\nprotect the public interest;\n (c) prescribe standards by which the franchising authority shall\ndetermine whether an applicant possesses (i) the technical ability, (ii)\nthe financial ability, (iii) the good character, and (iv) other\nqualifications necessary to operate a cable television system in the\npublic interest;\n (d) prescribe standards for the construction and operation of cable\ntelevision systems, which standards shall be designed to promote (i)\nsafe, adequate and reliable service to subscribers, (ii) the\nconstruction and operation of systems consistent with most advanced\nstate of the art, (iii) a construction schedule providing for maximum\npenetration as rapidly as possible within the limitations of economic\nfeasibility, (iv) the construction of systems with the maximum\npracticable channel capacity, facilities for local program origination,\nfacilities to provide service in areas conforming to various community\ninterests, facilities with the technical capacity for interconnection\nwith other systems within regions as established in the commission's\nstatewide plan and facilities capable of transmitting signals from\nsubscribers to the cable television company or to other points; and (v)\nthe prompt handling of inquiries, complaints and requests for repairs;\n 3. Provide advice and technical assistance to municipalities and\ncommunity organizations in matters relating to cable television\nfranchises and services;\n 4. Establish minimum specifications for equipment, service and safety\nof cable television systems for use by municipalities;\n 5. Review and act upon applications for certificates of confirmation\nin accordance with such standards as hereinafter provided;\n 6. Represent the interests of the people of the state before the\nfederal communications commission and other appropriate federal agencies\nand make available information on communications developments at the\nfederal level;\n 7. Stimulate and encourage cooperative arrangements among\norganizations, institutions and municipalities in the development of\nregional, educational, instructional and public affairs programming\nservices;\n 8. Cooperate with municipalities to facilitate undertaking of multiple\ncommunity cable television systems;\n 9. Encourage the creation of public and community groups, to organize,\nseek chartering when appropriate, and request franchising for the\nestablishment of public, nonprofit and not-for-profit cable television\noperations;\n 10. Maintain liaison with the communications industry and parties both\npublic and private, having an interest therein, other states and\nagencies of this state to promote the rapid harmonious development of\ncable television services as set forth in the legislative findings and\nintent;\n 11. Undertake such studies as may be necessary to meet the\nresponsibilities and objectives of this article;\n 12. Implement the provisions of this article in a manner which is\ncognizant of the differing financial and administrative capabilities of\ncompanies of different sizes;\n 13. Encourage and cooperate with other state agencies that collect\ninformation from cable television companies serving fewer than one\nthousand subscribers to eliminate duplicative reporting requirements.\n