§ 15-1-131 — Communications companies franchise agreements authorized; limitations; procedure; exceptions

Wyoming § 15-1-131

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 15: Cities and Towns
• Ch. 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
• Art. 1: POWERS AND MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

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(a) The governing body of a city or town may enter into a
franchise agreement with a communications company, as defined by
W.S. 1-26-813(b), for access to its public rights-of-way if the
governing body deems the franchise agreement to be proper and
the agreement meets the requirements of this section.
(b) All franchise agreements entered into by a governing
body with a communications company under this section or with a
cable company pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 541 et seq. shall:
(i) Be fair and reasonable;
(ii) Be competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory;
(iii) Comply with all requirements of applicable
federal and state laws and ordinance;
(iv) Not unreasonably impair or inhibit the
deployment of communications services;
(v) To the extent practical encourage the deployment
of communications services to serve consumers.
(c) Franchise fees assessed under a franchise agreement
entered into pursuant to this section shall:
(i) Be passed through to customers unless otherwise
agreed;
(ii) Not be assessed on revenues from internet access
service.
(d) A communications company assessed a franchise fee on
local exchange services by a governing body may not be assessed
any additional franchise fees by that governing body, including
an assessment on any other communications services.
(e) A communications company proposing to enter into a
franchise agreement shall provide to the governing body of the
city or town a request for negotiations. Negotiations between
the governing body and a proposed franchisee shall not exceed
one hundred eighty (180) days unless agreed to by the parties in
writing. A request made under this subsection shall include, at
a minimum, the date of the request for negotiations, the
proposed date for the start of negotiations, the date by which
negotiations shall terminate and the contact information for the
proposed franchisee.
(f) Any holder of a cable franchise pursuant to 47 U.S.C.
§ 541 et seq. shall be exempt from subsections (a), (c) and (e)
of this section. Subject to federal law and the provisions of
this subsection, a governing body may assess a franchise fee on
gross revenues as determined in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles for the provision of cable
service over a cable system operated by a holder of a cable
franchise pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 541 et seq. As used in this
subsection, "gross revenues" shall not include any taxes, fees
or assessments collected by a holder of a cable franchise from
subscribers that are passed through to a government agency,
including the user fee assessed by the federal communications
commission, franchise fees, sales taxes and utility taxes.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit or
alter any decision by a governing body to not impose the
franchise fee authorized by this section or any decision by a
governing body to enter into an agreement with a holder of a
cable franchise to impose a franchise fee on only a portion of
the gross revenues from the provision of cable service subject
to franchise fees under federal law and the provisions of this
subsection.