La Puente Municipal Code Ch. 5.56 Video Service Provided by State Franchise Holders

Sections:

• 5.56.010 Purpose and applicability.

• 5.56.020 Definitions.

• 5.56.030 Franchise fee for state franchise holders.

• 5.56.040 Public, educational and government channels.

• 5.56.050 Payment of fees.

• 5.56.060 Customer service penalties for state franchise holders.

• 5.56.070 Appeal process for customer service penalties.

• 5.56.080 Public right-of-way

• 5.56.090 Authority to examine and audit business records.

• 5.56.100 Environmental review.

• 5.56.110 Emergency alert system.

• 5.56.120 Non-discriminatory video service.

• 5.56.130 Reauthorization.

The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations for the provision of video service by state franchise holders, in accordance with the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act, California Public Utilities Code section 5800 et seq (“DIVCA”). This chapter shall apply only to video service providers issued a state franchise to serve any area within the city by the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) pursuant to DIVCA.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

For the purposes of this chapter, the words set out in this section shall have the following meanings:

“Cable service” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(c) or its successor.

“City” means the City of La Puente.

“City Council” shall mean the City Council of the city.

“Encroachment permit" shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5885(c)(1) or its successor.

“Franchise” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(f) or its successor.

“Franchise fee” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(g) or its successor.

“Gross revenues” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5860 or its successor.

“Holder” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(i) or its successor.

“Incumbent cable operator” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(j) or its successor.

“Lead agency” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Resources Code section 21067 or its successor.

“Local franchise” shall mean a cable television franchise, permitting the incumbent cable operator to own, operate, and maintain a cable system and provide cable services within the city, issued by the City prior to December 31, 2006.

“Material breach” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5900(j) or its successor.

“Network” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(l) or its successor.

“PEG channels” means “public, educational, and governmental access channels” as that term is defined in Public Utilities Code section 5870.

“Public right-of-way” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(o) or its successor.

“State franchise” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(p) or its successor.

“Video service” shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5830(s) or its successor.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

Each state franchise holder shall remit to the city a franchise fee in the amount of five percent of the gross revenues of the state franchise holder in compliance with California Public Utilities Code sections 5840(q) and 5860.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

(a) Each state franchise holder shall remit to the city a fee to support PEG channel facilities in the amount of one percent of the gross revenues of the state franchise holder. All revenue collected pursuant to this fee shall be deposited in a separate fund and shall only be expended for the purpose of supporting PEG channel facilities.

(b) Each payment of the fee established in subsection (a) of this section delivered to the city shall be accompanied by a summary report explaining the basis for the calculation of the payment, reflecting the total amount of gross revenues for the remittance period and all payments, deductions and computations used to determine the amount of the quarterly remittance. The City Manager may establish, and from time to time revise, such additional reporting requirements as are necessary to ensure that the basis for the calculation of the amount of remittance is adequately explained and documented, and each state franchise holder shall comply with such additional reporting requirements provided that each state franchise holder shall have first been provided written notice at least fifteen days prior to the beginning of the remittance period.

(c) All obligations, existing on December 31, 2006, to provide and support PEG channel facilities and institutional networks and to provide cable services to community buildings contained in a local franchise, shall continue until October 31, 2014 pursuant to California Public Utilities Code section 5870.

(d) Each state franchise holder shall designate a sufficient amount of capacity on its network to allow the provision of PEG channels in accordance with California Public Utilities Code section 5870. Each state franchise holder shall have three months from the date the city requests the PEG channels to designate the capacity. The three (3) month period shall be tolled by any period during which the designation or provision of PEG channel capacity is technically infeasible.

(e) Notwithstanding California Public Utilities Code section 5879(n), upon the expiration of any state franchise, without any action of the City Council, this section shall be deemed to have been automatically reauthorized, unless the state franchise holder has given the City Manager and the City Council written notice sixty days prior to the expiration of its state franchise that the section will expire pursuant to the terms of California Public Utilities Code Section 5879(n).

(f) This section shall be enforced, and disputes regarding this section shall be resolved, pursuant to California Public Utilities Code section 5870.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

(a) Each state franchise holder shall pay the franchise fee established in Section 5.56.030 and the PEG channel facilities fee established in Section 5.56.040.(a) on a quarterly basis in a manner consistent with California Public Utilities Code section 5860.

(b) Each state franchise holder shall deliver to the city by check, or other means agreeable to the City Manager, a separate payment for the franchise fee established in Section 5.56.030 and the PEG channel facilities fee established in Section 5.56.040.(a) not later than forty-five days after the end of each calendar quarter.

(c) If any state franchise holder fails to remit the franchise fee established in Section 5.56.030 or the PEG channel facilities fee established in Section 5.56.040.(a) when due, the state franchise holder shall remit to the city a late payment charge at the rate per year equal to the highest prime lending rate during the period of delinquency plus one percent.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

(a) In accordance with California Public Utilities Code Section 5900 or its successor, the City Council may from time to time adopt, by resolution, a schedule of penalties for any material breach by a state franchise holder.

(b) The City Manager shall have the authority to assess penalties for any material breach by a state franchise holder. Prior to assessing penalties for a material breach, the City Manager shall first provide the state franchise holder with a written notice of any alleged material breach of the customer service provisions set forth in California Public Utilities Code Section 5900 and shall allow the state franchise holder at least thirty days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach. In the event that a specified material breach has not been remedied following the City Manager’s assessment of penalties in the maximum amount permitted per occurrence, the City Manager, after providing a subsequent written notice of the alleged material breach, may treat the continuing occurrence as a subsequent material breach.

(c) Pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5900, any penalty remitted to the city by a state franchise holder for a material breach of the customer service provisions set forth in California Public Utilities Code Section 5900 shall be split in half, and the city shall submit one half of the penalty amount to the Digital Divide Account established by California Public Utilities Code Section 280.5.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

Any state franchise holder may appeal any customer service penalty assessed pursuant to Section 5.56.060 according to the administrative hearing procedure set forth in Chapter 1.12 of Title 1 of the La Puente Municipal Code. Judicial review of any resulting decision of the hearing officer may be sought by any interested person in a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5900.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

(a) Each state franchise holder that desires to provide video services by means of a network proposed to be constructed within the city’s public right-of-way shall comply, to the extent permitted by law, with the regulatory provisions applicable to telecommunication corporations set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of Section 5.52.330 of Chapter 5.52 of Title 5 of the La Puente Municipal Code. In addition to such regulatory provisions, the following shall apply to each state franchise holder applying for an encroachment permit:

(1) Any encroachment permit application submitted by a state franchise holder shall be approved or denied within sixty days of receipt by the city of a completed application. An application for an encroachment permit is complete when the state franchise holder has complied with all statutory requirements, including CEQA, pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5885.

(2) The sixty-day time period for approval or denial of an encroachment permit application may be extended if mutually agreed to in a written agreement between the state franchise holder and the city.

(3) Any denial of an encroachment permit application submitted to any state franchise holder by the city shall be written and shall include a detailed explanation of the reason for the denial.

(4) Any state franchise holder may appeal a denial of an encroachment permit application to the City Council.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

(a) The City Manager is hereby authorized to examine and audit once per year the business records of any state franchise holder relating to gross revenues in a manner consistent with California Public Utilities Code Section 5860.

(b) All state franchise holders shall keep and maintain all business records reflecting any gross revenues, regardless of change in ownership, for at least four years after those gross revenues are recognized by the state franchise holder on its books and records pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5860.

(c) If the state franchise holder has underpaid the franchise fee established by Section 5.56.030 by more than five percent, the state franchise holder shall pay the reasonable and actual costs of the examination and audit. If the state franchise holder has not underpaid the franchise fee established in Section 5.56.030, the city shall pay the reasonable and actual costs of the examination and audit. If the state franchise holder, however, has underpaid the franchise fee established by Section 5.56.030 by five percent or less, the state franchise holder and the city shall each bear their own costs of the examination and audit.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

The city shall serve as the lead agency for any environmental review under DIVCA. The city may impose conditions to mitigate environmental impacts of any state franchise holder’s use of the public rights-of-way that may be required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq. (“CEQA”).

(a) All state franchise holders shall comply with the Emergency Alert System requirements of the Federal Communications Commission in order that emergency messages may be distributed over all state franchise holders’ networks.

(b) All provisions contained in a local franchise existing within the City on December 31, 2006 authorizing the city access and use of the Emergency Alert System shall remain in effect and shall apply to any state franchise holders until October 31, 2014.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

Each state franchise holder is prohibited from discriminating against or denying access to service to any group of potential residential subscribers within the city because of the income of the residents in the local area in which the group resides. This requirement may be satisfied pursuant to California Public Utilities Code section 5890 or its successor. The City may bring complaints to the CPUC that a state franchise holder is not offering video services as required by California Public Utilities Code Section 5890.

(Ord. 08-871 § 1 (part), 2008)

The City Council of the city of La Puente hereby reauthorizes the PEG fees adopted by Ordinance 08-871. The fees shall remain unchanged and in full effect as to all state video franchise holders operating within the boundaries of the City of La Puente.

(Ord. 18-950 § 2, 2018)