This chapter is enacted to provide for local regulation of cable franchises as contemplated by the amendments of AB2987(2006) to the California Public Utilities Code.
(Ord. 1798 § 1, 2006)
A. 
Penalty Schedule. Any holder of a state franchise that offers cable or video service within the jurisdiction of Merced County shall pay the following for any material breach of its state franchise:
1. 
Five hundred dollars for each day of each material breach.
2. 
If a material breach of this section has occurred, and the local entity has provided notice and a fine or penalty has been assessed, and if a subsequent material breach of the same nature occurs within 12 months, the penalties may be increased by the local entity to a maximum of $1,000 for each day of each material breach, not to exceed $3,000 for each occurrence of the material breach.
3. 
If a third or further material breach of the same nature occurs within those same 12 months, and the local entity has provided notice and a fine or penalty has been assessed, the penalties may be increased to a maximum of $2,500 for each day of each material breach, not to exceed $7,500 for each occurrence of the material breach.
B. 
Definition of Material Breach. For purposes of this chapter, "material breach" means any substantial and repeated failure of a video service provider to comply with service quality and other standards specified in Sections 53055, 53055.1, 53055.2, 53088.2 of the Government Code, and any other customer service standards pertaining to the provisions of video service established by federal law or regulation or adopted by subsequent enactment of the Legislature.
C. 
Notice of Material Breach and Right to Remedy. The county shall give the video provider written notice of any alleged material breaches of the consumer service standards of this chapter and allow the video provider at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach.
D. 
Per Diem Deemed Material Breach. A material breach for the purposes of assessing penalties shall be deemed to have occurred for each day within the jurisdiction of Merced County, following the expiration of the period specified in subsection C of this section, that any material breach has not been remedied by the video provider, irrespective of the number of customers affected.
E. 
Submittal to Digital Divide Account. One-half of any penalty provided to the county under this chapter shall be submitted to the Digital Divide Account established in Public Utilities Code Section 280.5.
F. 
Liquidated Damages Reduction. With respect to state franchise holders subject to a franchise or license, any monetary penalties assessed under this section shall be reduced dollar-for-dollar to the extent any liquidated damage or penalty provision of a current cable television ordinance, franchise contract, or license agreement imposes a monetary obligation upon a video provider for the same customer service failures, and no other monetary damages may be assessed.
G. 
De Novo Judicial Review. Any interested person may seek judicial review of a decision of the local entity in a court of appropriate jurisdiction. This section shall not preclude a party affected by this section from utilizing any judicial remedy available to that party without regard to this section. Actions taken by the county pursuant to this section shall not be binding upon a court of law. For this purpose, a court of law shall conduct de novo review of any issues presented.
(Ord. 1798 § 2, 2006)
A. 
PEG Fee Established. There is established a local fee to support public, educational and governmental (PEG) access channel facilities consistent with Public Utilities Code Section 5870, subsection (n).
B. 
Amount of PEG Fee. The fee is set at one percent of the state or local franchise holder's gross revenues as defined in Public Utilities Code 5860.
(Ord. 1798 § 3, 2006)
A. 
Appeal of Encroachment Permit Applications. Decisions regarding an encroachment permit application for a state or local franchise holder may be appealed as provided by this section. (Public Utilities Code Section 5880, subsection (c)(4)).
B. 
Appeal to Public Works Director. Decisions on an encroachment permit application must first be appealed to the director of public works of the county.
C. 
Appeal to the Board of Supervisors. Decisions of the director of public works of the county on an encroachment permit application may be appealed to the board of supervisors.
D. 
Each Appeal Hearing De Novo. Appeal hearings of the public works director and board of supervisors are considered new hearings (de novo). The public works director or board of supervisors when holding an appeal hearing may review the entire previous proceedings, rehear the matter anew (de novo), and exercise its own independent judgment in making a decision on the appeal and approving or denying the project.
E. 
Who May Appeal. An appeal may be filed by the applicant affected by a decision, administrative action, or interpretation of the public works director as described in subsections B of this section.
F. 
Filing of Appeals.
1. 
Appeals to the Public Works Director. An appeal must be filed with the planning department within five calendar days from the decision that is the subject of the appeal. The appeal shall be in writing, shall include any information required by the public works director and shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $500.
2. 
Appeals to the Board of Supervisors. An appeal of the public works director's decision must be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors within five calendar days from the decision that is the subject of the appeal. The appeal shall be in writing, shall include any information required by the board office and shall be accompanied by the filing fee of $500.
3. 
Review Notice of Hearing. Upon receipt of an application for appeal to be heard by the public works director or board of supervisors, the appeal body shall conduct a public hearing on the appeal within 60 days of the filing. Notice of the hearing shall be given by certified mail to the applicant. The appeal body, whether director or board, may continue the hearing from time to time. The appeal body's decision shall be effective immediately. However, an appeal, if denied by the public works director, may be further appealed to the board of supervisors within the time limits of subsection (F)(2) of this section.
(Ord. 1798 § 4, 2006)