Chapter 3.40
CABLE SYSTEM FRANCHISE REGULATIONS
Sections:
3.40.010 Franchise fees.
Any state video franchise holder operating in the city shall pay to the city a franchise fee that is equal to five percent of the gross revenues of that state video franchise holder. The term “gross revenue” shall be defined as set forth in Public Utilities Code Section 5860. Each state video franchise holder shall remit the franchise fee to the city quarterly, within 45 days after the end of the quarter for that calendar quarter. Each payment shall be accompanied by a summary explaining the basis for the calculation of the franchise fee. (Ord. 1129 § 1)
3.40.020 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 the extent reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations related to the computation and payment of franchise fees. A state video franchise holder shall keep all business records reflecting any gross revenues, even if there is a change in ownership, for at least four years after those revenues are recognized by the state video franchise holder on its books and records. If the examination discloses that the state video franchise holder has underpaid franchise fees by more than five percent during the examination period, the state video franchise holder shall pay all of the reasonable and actual costs of the examination in addition to the underpaid franchise fees. If the examination discloses that the state video franchise holder has not underpaid franchise fees, the city shall pay all of the reasonable and actual costs of the examination. (Ord. 1129 § 1)
3.40.030 Compliance.
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 services. (Ord. 1129 § 1)
3.40.040 PEG access channels.
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 public, educational, or governmental (PEG) access channels.
A. PEG access channels shall be for the exclusive use of the city or its designees to provide public, educational or governmental programming.
B. The PEG access channels shall be used only for noncommercial purposes. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, advertising, underwriting or sponsorship recognition may be carried on the PEG access channels for the purpose of funding PEG-related activities.
C. The PEG access channels shall be carried on the basic service tier. The PEG signal shall be receivable by all subscribers, whether they receive digital or analog service, or a combination thereof, without the need for any equipment other than the equipment necessary to receive the lowest cost tier of service. The PEG access capacity provided shall be of similar quality and functionality to that offered by commercial channels on the lowest cost tier of service unless the signal is provided to the state cable franchise holder at a lower quality or with less functionality.
D. 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 number for the PEG access channels shall be the same channel numbers used by the incumbent cable operator unless prohibited by federal law.
E. 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.
F. Each PEG access channel shall be capable of carrying a National Television System Committee (NTSC) television signal. (Ord. 1129 § 1)
3.40.050 PEG support fee.
In accordance with Public Utilities Code Section 5870(n), state video franchise holders shall pay to city a PEG support fee in the amount of one percent of gross revenues. State franchise holders shall remit PEG support fees in the same manner as franchise fees. The PEG support fee shall be used to support PEG channel facilities consistent with applicable federal and state law. (Ord. 1129 § 1)