Tehachapi Municipal Code Ch. 5.20 Catv and Telecommunications Systems

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 21-01-759, § 1, adopted April 19, 2021, repealed the former Chapter 5.20, §§ 5.20.010, 5.20.020, and § 3 of said ordinance enacted a new Chapter 5.20 as set out herein. The former Chapter 5.20 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. 97-03-634 § 2(part), 1997.

A. The city council is empowered to grant nonexclusive franchises to any person, firm, corporation, company or other entity for the purpose of providing cable antenna television service and other video and telecommunications services within the City of Tehachapi. The terms and conditions under which such franchises are granted shall be contained in a franchise agreement executed between the city and the franchisee.

B. Except for video service providers that have been issued a state franchise pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5840, no person, firm, corporation, company or entity may provide such service except through a franchise agreement with the city.

C. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not to exceed one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not to exceed six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. No. 21-01-759, § 3, 4-19-2021)

A. Pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5900, video service providers that have been issued a state franchise pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5840 must comply with the provisions of Sections 53055, 53055.1, 53055.2, and 53088.2 of the California Government Code, and any other customer service standards pertaining to the provision of video service established by federal law or regulation and any laws subsequently enacted by the California Legislature (the "customer service standards").

B. The holder of a state-issued franchise shall comply with the provisions of California Penal Code Section 637.5 and the privacy standards contained in the Federal Cable Act, at 47 U.S.C. § 551, et seq.

C. The city shall enforce the customer service standards of this section with respect to complaints received from residents within the city's jurisdiction, pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5900(c).

D. Prior to imposing the penalties provided by this section, the city shall notify state franchise holders in writing of any material breach of these customer service standards. The video service provider shall have thirty days from the receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach.

E. A material breach of the customer service standards by state franchise holders is punishable by a penalty of five hundred dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed fifteen hundred dollars for each occurrence of a material breach.

F. If a subsequent material breach of the same standard occurs within twelve months, the repeat material breach is punishable by a penalty of one thousand dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed three thousand dollars for each occurrence of the material breach.

G. If a third or further material breach of the same standard occurs within twelve months of the first breach, the repeat material breach or breaches are punishable by a penalty of twenty-five hundred dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed seventy-five hundred dollars for each occurrence of the material breach.

H. Acts or omissions of a video service provider that result in breaches of two or more different customer service standards will be treated and penalized as separate material breaches of each violated standard.

I. This section shall not apply to any video service provider providing video services pursuant to a franchise agreement with the city.

(Ord. No. 21-01-759, § 3, 4-19-2021)

A. Video service providers that have been issued a state franchise pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5840, shall designate a sufficient amount of capacity on their networks for the provision of PEG channels as provided by Public Utilities Code Section 5870.

B. Pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5870(n), the City of Tehachapi hereby establishes a public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access fee.

1. Video service providers that have been issued a state franchise must pay to the City of Tehachapi a PEG access fee of one percent of the video service provider's gross revenues to support PEG channels consistent with federal law. The fee shall be remitted to the city quarterly, within forty-five days after the close of each quarter, at the same time as the video service provider remits its franchise fee pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5860(h).

2. If the video service provider does not pay the PEG access fee when due, the video service provider shall pay a late payment charge at a rate per year equal to the highest prime lending rate during the period of delinquency, plus one percent.

3. Pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5860(i), the video service provider must keep records of its gross revenues for at least four years after those revenues are recognized in its books. The city may review the business records of the video service provider to ensure that the PEG access fee is being paid properly. If an audit of the video service provider indicates that the PEG access fee has been underpaid by more than five percent, the video service provider must pay the reasonable and actual costs of the audit, as well as the delinquent fees.

C. This section shall not apply to any video service provider providing video services pursuant to a franchise agreement with the city.

(Ord. No. 21-01-759, § 3, 4-19-2021)