§ 227 — Termination of franchises

§ 227. Termination of franchises. 1. A franchise shall terminate at\nthe expiration of its term or otherwise in accordance with the\nprovisions thereof, unless, prior thereto, the commission otherwise\norders. The commission may so order only if it finds, after public\nnotice and opportunity for a hearing, that the franchisee:\n (a) has committed a material breach of its franchise or any applicable\nprovision of this article or of the regulations promulgated hereunder\nand has failed, without reasonable justification, to cure said breach\nwithin sixty days after having received written notice thereof from the\ncommission, or\n (b) has been adjudicated a bankrupt or has filed a voluntary petition\nfor bankruptcy or reorganization or for an order protecting its assets\nfrom the claims of creditors and the commission finds that termination\nof the franchise or certificate of confirmation under such conditions is\nin the best interest of the public.\n 2. Upon termination of a franchise or certificate of confirmation, the\ncable television company shall dispose of its facilities in accordance\nwith the provisions of the franchise or certificate. However, on motion\nof any interested party or upon its own motion, and after public notice\nand opportunity for hearing, if the commission finds that the continued\npresence of the facilities in any public thoroughfare would pose a\nnuisance to the municipality or its residents, the cable television\ncompany shall remove its facilities within such period as the commission\nshall order. In the absence of any applicable franchise or certificate\nprovision or order by the commission to the contrary, the cable\ntelevision company may abandon its facilities.\n