Turlock Municipal Code Art. 17 Regulation Of State Video Franchise Holders

A fee paid to the City is hereby established for the support of public, educational, and governmental access facilities and activities within the City. Unless a higher percentage is authorized by applicable State or Federal law, this fee shall not exceed one (1%) percent. This fee is applicable to a State video franchise holder operating within the City, which shall pay to the City one percent (1%) of its gross revenue, as defined in California Public Utilities Code Section 5860.

(1099-CS, Added, 10/25/2007)

[1]

Code reviser's note: Ordinances 1248-CS and 1249-CS (urgency ordinance) reauthorize PEG fees, stating "The City's fees for support of PEG activities authorized by Section 3-8-1701 of the Turlock Municipal Code is hereby reauthorized to the extent required by California Public Utilities Code Section 5870(n). All state franchises operating within the City shall continue to collect and remit the PEG fees to City as required by Section 3-8-1701."

(a) Franchise Fee. A State video franchise holder operating in the City shall pay to the City a franchise fee that is equal to five (5%) percent of the gross revenues of that State video franchise holder. The term "gross revenues" shall be defined as set forth in Public Utilities Code Section 5860.

(b) Audit Authority. Not more than once annually, the City may examine and perform an audit of the business records of a holder of a State video franchise to ensure compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations related to the computation and payment of franchise fees.

(c) Customer Service Penalties under State Video Franchises.

(1) The holder of a State video franchise shall comply with all applicable State and Federal customer service and protection standards pertaining to the provision of video service.

(2) The City shall monitor State video franchise holder's compliance with State and Federal customer service and protection standards. The City will provide to the State video franchise holder written notice of any material breaches of applicable customer service and protection standards, and will allow the State video franchise holder thirty (30) days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach. Material breaches not remedied within the thirty (30) day time period will be subject to the following monetary penalties to be imposed by the City in accordance with State law:

(i) For the first occurrence of a violation, a monetary penalty of Five Hundred and no/100ths ($500.00) Dollars shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed one thousand, Five Hundred and no/100ths ($1,500.00) Dollars for each violation.

(ii) For a second violation of the same nature within twelve (12) months, a monetary penalty of One Thousand and no/100ths ($1,000.00) Dollars shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed Three Thousand and no/100ths ($3,000.00) Dollars for each violation.

(iii) For a third or further violation of the same nature within twelve (12) months, a monetary penalty of Two Thousand, Five Hundred and no/100ths ($2,500.00) Dollars shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed Seven Thousand, Five Hundred and no/100ths ($7,500.00) Dollars for each violation.

(3) A State video franchise holder may appeal a monetary penalty assessed by the City within sixty (60) days. After relevant evidence and testimony is received, and staff reports are submitted, the City Council will vote to either uphold or vacate the monetary penalty. The City Council's decision on the imposition of a monetary penalty shall be final.

(d) PEG Channel Capacity. A State video franchise holder that uses the public rights-of-way shall designate sufficient capacity on its network to enable the carriage of at least three (3) public, educational, or governmental (PEG) access channels.

(1) PEG access channels shall be for the exclusive use of the City or its designees to provide public, educational, or governmental programming.

(2) Advertising, underwriting, or sponsorship recognition may be carried on the PEG access channels for the purpose of funding PEG-related activities.

(3) The PEG access channels shall be carried on the basic service tier.

(4) To the extent feasible, the PEG access channels shall not be separated numerically from other channels carried on the basic service tier, and the channel numbers for the PEG access channels shall be the same channel numbers used by the incumbent cable operator unless prohibited by federal law.

(5) After the initial designation of PEG access channel numbers, the channel numbers shall not be changed without the prior written consent of the City, unless the change is required by federal law.

(6) Each PEG access channel shall be capable of carrying a National Television System Committee (NTSC) television signal.

(e) Interconnection. Where technically feasible, a State video franchise holder and incumbent cable operator shall negotiate in good faith to interconnect their networks for the purpose of providing PEG access channel programming. Interconnection may be accomplished by direct cable, microwave link, satellite, or other reasonable method of connection. State video franchise holders and incumbent cable operators shall provide interconnection of the PEG access channels on reasonable terms and conditions and may not withhold the interconnection. If a State video franchise holder and an incumbent cable operator cannot reach a mutually acceptable interconnection agreement, the City may require the incumbent cable operator to allow the State video franchise holder to interconnect its network with the incumbent's network at a technically feasible point on the holder's network as identified by the holder. If no technically feasible point for interconnection is available, the State video franchise holder shall make an interconnection available to the channel originator and shall provide the facilities necessary for the interconnection. The cost of any interconnection shall be borne by the State video franchise holder requesting the interconnection unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

(f) Emergency Alert System and Emergency Overrides. A State video franchise holder must comply with the Emergency Alert System requirements of the Federal Communications Commission in order that emergency messages may be distributed over the holder's network. Provisions in City-issued franchises authorizing the City to provide local emergency notifications shall remain in effect, and shall apply to all State video franchise holders in the City for the duration of the City-issued franchise, or until the term of the franchise would have expired had it not been terminated pursuant to subdivision (m) of Section 5840 of the California Public Utilities Code, or until January 1, 2009, whichever is later.

(1099-CS, Added, 10/25/2007)