[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Swatara as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-14-1973 by Ord. No. 1973-15]
In all cases where utility lines installed in
Swatara Township are required by any authority to be placed underground,
cable television facilities shall likewise and in the same manner
be placed underground for present or future use.
[Adopted 3-9-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-3; amended in its entirety 11-13-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-10]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Swatara Township Cable Rate Regulation Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to the Federal
Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 and
the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, both of which amended
the Federal Communications Act of 1934. Section 623 of the Communications
Act, 47 U.S.C. § 543, states that "any franchising authority
may regulate the rates for the provisions of cable services... but
only to the extent provided under this section." This article is also
enacted pursuant to the rate regulations adopted by the FCC contained
in Subpart N, entitled "Cable Rate Regulation," 47 CFR 76.900 et seq.
The following terms used in this article shall
have, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the following
meanings:
All equipment in a subscriber's home, provided and maintained
by the operator, that is used to receive the basic service tier, regardless
of whether such equipment is additionally used to receive other tiers
of regulated programming service and/or unregulated service. Such
equipment shall include, but is not limited to converter boxes, remote
control units, and inside wiring.
At a minimum, all signals of domestic television broadcast
stations provided to any subscriber (except a signal secondarily transmitted
by satellite regardless of how such signal is ultimately received
by the cable system), any public, educational, and governmental programming
required by the franchise to be carried on the basic tier, and any
additional video programming signals or service added to the basic
tier by the cable operator.
The governing body of the Township of Swatara.
Any person or group of persons:
The one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming
or other programming service and subscriber interaction, if any, which
is required for the selection or use of such video programming or
other programming service.
A facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission paths
and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment
that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming
and which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community,
but such term does not include:
A facility that serves only to retransmit the
television signals of one or more television broadcast stations;
A facility that serves subscribers without using
any public right-of-way;
A facility of a common carrier which is subject,
in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications
Act, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system
[other than for purposes of Section 621(c) of the Communications Act]
to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming
directly to subscribers unless the extent of that use is solely to
provide interactive on-demand services;
An open video system that complies with Section
653 of the Communications Act;[1] or
Any facilities of any electric utility used
solely for operating its electric utility systems.
The Federal Communications Commission.
A governmental or public entity that has filed a Form 328
with the FCC and is certified by the FCC to regulate basic service
and associated equipment rates, oversee the operations of a cable
operator and its compliance with a franchise agreement.
An individual, partnership, association, joint stock company,
trust, corporation or governmental entity.
Any person or entity who contracts with a cable operator
for, and lawfully receives, the video signals and applicable cable
services distributed by the cable system.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 U.S.C. § 573.
The Township has submitted a completed FCC Form
328 with the FCC and is certified by the FCC as a franchising authority
to regulate basic service and associated equipment rates in accordance
with the applicable regulations of the FCC.
In addition to the regulations contained in
this article, the rate regulations of the FCC contained in Subpart
N, entitled "Cable Rate Regulation," 47 CFR 76.900 et seq., as may
be amended, are hereby adopted for the review and determination of
reasonable and lawful rates for basic service and associated equipment.
Only the rates of cable systems that are not
subject to effective competition may be regulated. In the absence
of a demonstration by a cable operator to the contrary, a cable system
is presumed not to be subject to effective competition.
The compliance officer shall be responsible
for:
A.
Taking such actions on behalf of the Township as may
from time to time be required to obtain or maintain the Township's
certification to regulate basic service and associated equipment rates.
B.
Notifying all cable operators serving the Township
when the Township has become certified by the FCC to regulate basic
service and associated equipment rates and has adopted this article.
C.
Receiving, filing in the public records of the Township,
reviewing for completeness, and, if appropriate, placing on the Board
of Commissioners agenda for consideration, rate regulatory forms and
other filings by cable operators required to be submitted pursuant
to applicable federal law and regulations.
D.
Enforcing the provisions of this article and all decisions
of the Board of Commissioners made hereunder to the fullest extent
permitted by federal law and regulations, subject to the oversight
and control of the Board of Commissioners.
E.
Taking such other actions as may be necessary from
time to time, subject to the oversight and control of the Board of
Commissioners, to protect the rights of the Township to regulate basic
service and associated equipment rates to the fullest extent permitted
by federal law and regulations.
A.
A cable operator shall file its schedule of rates
for the basic service tier and associated equipment within 30 days
of receiving written notification from the Township that is has been
certified as a franchising authority to regulate rates. The cable
operator shall include rate cards and channel line-ups with its filing
and include an explanation of any discrepancy in the figures provided
in these documents and its rate filing.
B.
A cable operator shall provide written notice to each
subscriber of any increase in the rates to be charged for the basic
service tier or associated equipment at least 30 days before any increase
becomes effective.
C.
A cable operator shall submit to the Township the
rate regulatory forms required by the FCC, including, but not limited
to, FCC Form 1240 and FCC Form 1205, on a periodic basis and in a
timely fashion as required by applicable federal law and regulations.
The deadlines for submission of such forms are dependent upon the
cable operator's election to employ the annual rate adjustment method
or the quarterly rate adjustment method. Should applicable federal
law and/or regulations be amended to alter the rate adjustment methods,
then the cable operator shall comply with such amendments.
D.
A cable operator shall comply with all requests for
information, orders and decisions of the Township. No cable operator
shall, in any information submitted to the Township in making a rate
determination pursuant to an FCC rate regulatory form filing, make
any misrepresentation or willful material omission bearing on any
matter within the Township's jurisdiction.
A.
Upon receipt of FCC rate regulatory forms, including,
but not limited to, FCC Form 1240 and FCC Form 1205, from a cable
operator proposing any change in basic service and/or associated equipment
rates, the compliance officer shall review the forms to determine
whether the filing is complete. If the filing is incomplete, the compliance
officer shall notify the cable operator within the applicable time
period required by federal law and regulations and ask the cable operator
to submit such additional information as is necessary to make the
filing complete. The time period for review by the Township shall
be extended for the cable operator to complete the filing in accordance
with applicable federal law and regulations.
B.
Upon receipt of completed FCC rate regulatory forms
from a cable operator, the compliance officer shall make an initial
determination as to whether the proposed rate adjustments are reasonable
and lawful pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations. The
compliance officer may engage the services of an expert in cable rate
regulation to assist in making such initial determination.
C.
Should the compliance officer make an initial determination
that the cable operator's proposed rates are unreasonable and unlawful,
the compliance officer shall place the issue on the Board of Commissioners's
agenda for public consideration in the form of a rate-making proceeding.
The Board of Commissioners shall provide a reasonable opportunity
for public comment and for consideration of the views of interested
parties.
D.
Upon conclusion of the rate-making proceeding, the
Board of Commissioners shall render a decision on whether the cable
operator's proposed rates are reasonable and lawful. The Board of
Commissioners shall issue a written decision if it disapproves an
initial rate for basic service and/or associated equipment in whole
or in part, disapproves a request for a rate increase in whole or
in part, or approves a request for a rate increase in whole or in
part over the objections of interested parties. Public notice shall
be given regarding any written decision, including releasing the text
of the written decision to the public.
E.
As part of the rate-making proceeding, the Township
may require the production of proprietary information to make a rate
determination. The Township shall state a justification for each item
of information requested and, where related to an FCC form, indicate
the question or section of the form to which the request specifically
relates. Upon request by a cable operator, the parties to a rate proceeding
shall have access to such information subject to the Township's procedures
governing nondisclosure by the parties. Public access to such proprietary
information shall be governed by applicable state and local law.
In rendering its decisions, the Board of Commissioners
shall have the full authority to order a cable operator to take any
and all enforcement actions permitted by applicable federal law and
regulations, including, but not limited to, the following:
A.
Ordering a cable operator to implement a reduction
in basic service or associated equipment rates where necessary to
bring rates into compliance with the standards set forth in applicable
federal law and regulations.
B.
Prescribing a reasonable rate for basic service or
associated equipment after it determines that a proposed rate is unreasonable
and unlawful.
C.
Ordering a cable operator to refund to subscribers
that portion of previously paid rates determined to be in excess of
the permitted tier charge or above the actual cost of equipment, unless
the operator has submitted a cost-of-service showing which justifies
the rate charged as reasonable. Any such refund order shall be further
subject to the limitations contained in applicable federal law and
regulations.
In the event that a cable operator does not
comply with an order or decision made pursuant to this article and
directed specifically toward the cable operator, the cable operator
is subject to a fine of not more than $500 per violation. Each day
of continuous violation of any of the provisions of this article shall
constitute a separate violation.
