Suisun City Municipal Code Ch. 5.14 Video Service Provided by State Franchise Holders

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 sections 5800—5970 ("DIVCA"). This chapter shall apply to video service providers operating within the city pursuant to a valid state franchise.

(Ord. No. 704, § 1, 7-1-2008)

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

(a) "City" means the City of Suisun City.

(b) "City manager" means the city manager of the City of Suisun City, or his or her designee.

(c) "Franchise fee" shall have the meaning given that term by subdivision (g) of Public Utilities Code section 5830 or its successor.

(d) "Gross revenues" shall have the meaning given that term by the California Public Utilities Code section 5860 or its successor.

(e) "Holder" shall have the meaning given that term by subdivision (j) of Public Utilities Code section 5830 or its successor.

(f) "Material breach" shall have the meaning given that term by subdivision (j) of Public Utilities Code section 5900 or its successor.

(g) "Network" shall have the meaning given that term by subdivision (l) of Public Utilities Code section 5830 or its successor.

(h) "State franchise" shall have the meaning given that term by subdivision (p) of Public Utilities Code section 5830.

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

(Ord. No. 704, § 1, 7-1-2008)

Any 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), 5860(a) and (d).

(Ord. No. 704, § 1, 7-1-2008)

(a) The city may, pursuant to Public Utilities Code section 5870 or its successor section, direct that the holder of a state franchise designate a sufficient amount of capacity on its network to allow the provision of up to three PEG channels.

(b) In the event that the city does so direct, the 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 in compliance with California Public Utilities Code section 5870. 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.

(c) To the extent that the fee required by subdivision (b) of this section becomes operative, each state franchise holder shall furnish, on an annual basis, a statement within 90 days of the close of the calendar year, either audited and certified by an independent certified public accountant or certified by an officer of the state franchise holder, reflecting the total amount of gross revenues, as defined in Public Utilities Code section 5860, for the preceding calendar year, and all payments, deductions and computations used to determine the amount of the remittances required by subdivision (b) of this section during the preceding calendar year. The city 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 remittances are adequately explained and documented, and each state franchise holder shall comply with such additional reporting requirements provided that each franchise holder shall have first been provided written notice of such requirements at least 15 days prior to the beginning of the calendar year.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (n) of Public Utilities Code section 5870, upon 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 written notice 60 days prior to the expiration of the state franchise that the section will expire pursuant to the terms of subdivision (n) of Public Utilities Code section 5870.

(Ord. No. 704, § 1, 7-1-2008)

(a) Any state franchise holder shall comply with the customer service provisions set forth in Public Utilities Code section 5900.

(b) The city shall impose the following penalties against a state franchise holder for any material breach of the customer service provisions set forth in section 5.14.050(a):

(1) For the first occurrence of a material breach, a fine of $500.00 shall be imposed for each day of each material breach, not to exceed $1,500.00 for each occurrence of the material breach.

(2) For a second occurrence of a material breach of the same nature as the first material breach that occurs within 12 months, a fine of $1,000.00 shall be imposed for each day of each material breach, not to exceed $3,000.00 for each occurrence of the material breach.

(3) For a third or further occurrence of a material breach of the same nature as the previous material breaches that occurred within the preceding 12 months, a fine of $2,500.00 shall be imposed for each day of each material breach, not to exceed $7,500.00 for each occurrence of the material breach.

(c) The city manager shall have the authority to assess penalties for any material breach by a holder of a state franchise. Prior to assessing penalties for a material breach, the city manager shall first have provided the state franchise holder with 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 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach.

(d) A material breach for the purposes of assessing penalties shall be deemed to have occurred for each day within the jurisdiction of the city, following the expiration of the period specified in this section that any material breach has not been remedied by the video provider, irrespective of the number of customers affected. No monetary penalties shall be assessed for a material breach if it is out of the reasonable control of the state franchise holder.

(e) The city shall submit one half of any penalty amounts it receives to the digital divide account established by California Public Utilities Code section 280.5.

(f) No monetary penalties shall be assessed for a material breach if it is out of the reasonable control of the state franchise holder.

(g) The amounts set in section 5.14.050(b) shall be automatically reauthorized to match any amendment to the amounts set in subsection (d) of California Public Utilities Code section 5900.

(Ord. No. 704, § 1, 7-1-2008)

The city shall ensure that it receives all franchise fee revenue to which it is entitled to at the times and in the amounts specified by Public Utilities Code section 5860, and, to that end, the city manager is hereby authorized, either with or without the assistance of a duly authorized representative, to examine the business records of the holder of the state franchise in accordance with subdivision (i) of Public Utilities Code section 5860.

(Ord. No. 704, § 1, 7-1-2008)