HOUSE HEALTH AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL 675
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
AN ACT
RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS; ENACTING THE COMMUNITY ACCESS TO MEDIA AND INFORMATION ACT; PROVIDING FOR COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL AND GOVERNMENTAL ACCESS TO CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Community Access to Media and Information Act".
Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Community Access to Media and Information Act:
A. "access management organization" means an entity contracted to provide the services of public, educational and governmental access;
B. "annual gross revenues of the local service provider" means any and all revenues receivable annually by the service provider subject to federal regulations and laws;
C. "demands upon their respective resources" means those amounts that have been quantified by calculating reasonable facilities expenses, payrolls, depreciation and obsolescence of plant and equipment, and other customary and usual elements of operational and capital costs;
D. "local franchise authority" means the unit of the political subdivision charged with oversight and regulation of the franchise agreements;
E. "political subdivision" means a unit of state government or local government;
F. "public, educational and governmental access" means either combined or separate noncommercial channels that are given to communities in exchange for the use of public rights of way and that provide the general public with access to media programming, training and equipment to facilitate the use of bandwidth and spectrum; and
G. "service provider" means a corporation that offers communications, information and digital services to a consumer for remuneration.
Section 3. NEEDS ASSESSMENT PRIOR TO FRANCHISE AGREEMENT.--
A. Prior to the execution of a franchise agreement, the service provider shall conduct an assessment of the communications and information needs of the community. The methodology for the needs assessment shall conform to generally accepted standards. The results shall be published as a matter of public record, and a public hearing shall be conducted by the political subdivision within ninety days of completion of the needs assessment. The reasonable costs and expenses of such an assessment and public hearing shall be borne by the service provider and shall be reimbursable from the franchise fees payable to the political subdivision.
B. Compensation receivable by a political subdivision, both from future franchises and pursuant to a franchise agreement currently in force, shall be allocated by the political subdivision for the benefit of its public, educational and government access operations pursuant to this section.
C. No assignment of a franchise shall be valid unless:
(1) the assignee assumes all of the obligations of the assignor; and
(2) the political subdivision has approved the assignment, the approval of which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
D. Minimum requirements of franchise agreements executed pursuant to this section for public, educational and governmental access shall include that:
(1) no less than two and one-half percent of the annual gross revenues of the local service provider, or one-half of the franchise fees, received by the political subdivision from the service provider shall be allocated and reserved for the funding of direct governmental or contracted-for access management for general operations;
(2) an additional one percent of gross revenues above franchise fees of the service provider shall be set aside for the provision of facilities and equipment to be collected by the political subdivision and utilized to fund direct governmental or contracted-for public, educational and government access facilities and equipment needs in accordance with federal regulations; and
(3) the funds payable to the political subdivision pursuant to this section shall be allocated by the political subdivision for the funding of direct governmental or contracted-for access management operations in accordance with the demands upon their respective resources.
E. If the service provider also operates as the access management organization, the service provider shall establish clear administrative procedures to make equipment and channel time available to the community and shall state, on screen, that the public is watching an access channel. These requirements shall be specifically described in the franchise agreement and subject to regulation and approval by the local franchise authority.
F. If a nonprofit organization operates as the access management organization, the obligations in this section shall be included in the agreement between the political subdivision and the nonprofit organization and subject to regulation and approval by the local franchise authority.
G. Nothing in this section prohibits political subdivisions from obtaining additional funding, bandwidth and spectrum or services from service providers within the limitations imposed by federal law.
Section 4. CABLE SERVICE.--Cable service providers shall carry public, educational and governmental access channels and services in those designated market areas where they currently carry local commercial channels on their systems.
Section 5. EMERGENCY ALERT CAPACITY.--A service provider shall have the capacity for transmitting emergency alerts via its system.
Section 6. ABANDONED FRANCHISE.--A cable system shall be deemed abandoned if a renewed franchise agreement has not been completed by the termination date of the existing franchise agreement unless a mutually agreed upon extension between the political subdivision and the service provider for continuation of negotiations has been reached.
Section 7. DIVERSITY IN PROGRAMMING--DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.--
A. Service providers, political subdivisions and access management organizations shall act to provide the greatest possible range of diversity in programming and delivery of services to the public.
B. No service provider, political subdivision or access management organization covered under this section may discriminate against an individual, organization or corporate entity in regard to service or the granting of contracts and franchises for reasons of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age or sexual orientation.
Section 8. PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION--COMPLIANCE.--The political subdivision and the service provider shall each file a report within ninety days of a contract year with the public regulation commission certifying compliance with the provisions of the Community Access to Media and Information Act. The public regulation commission shall serve as a repository and custodian of such compliance certifications only.
Section 9. SUBSCRIBER--ACTION FOR COMPLIANCE.--An access management organization or a subscriber to the services included in this section may bring action in district court to enforce compliance with the Community Access to Media and Information Act.
Section 10. SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of the Community Access to Media and Information Act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.
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