I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1103 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit franchising authorities 

from requiring approval for the sale of cable systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 18, 2021 

Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit franchising authorities from requiring approval for the sale 

of cable systems, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Access to 

5 Broadband for Local Economies and Competition Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘CABLE Competition Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SALES OF CABLE SYSTEMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 627 of the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 547) is amended to read: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 627. CONDITIONS OF SALE OR TRANSFER. 

2 ‘‘(a) VALUE OF CABLE SYSTEM UPON SALE OR

3 TRANSFER.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AFTER DENIAL OF FRANCHISE RE5 NEWAL.—If a renewal of a franchise held by a cable 

6 operator is denied and the franchising authority ac7 quires ownership of the cable system or effects a 

8 transfer of ownership of the system to another per9 son, any such acquisition or transfer shall be at fair 

10 market value, determined on the basis of the cable 

11 system valued as a going concern but with no value 

12 allocated to the franchise itself. 

13 ‘‘(2) AFTER REVOCATION OF FRANCHISE FOR

14 CAUSE.—If a franchise held by a cable operator is 

15 revoked for cause and the franchising authority ac16 quires ownership of the cable system or effects a 

17 transfer of ownership of the system to another per18 son, any such acquisition or transfer shall be at fair 

19 market value. 

20 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY OF FRANCHISING

21 AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT TO TRANSFER OF FRAN22 CHISE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A franchising authority 

24 may not— 


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1 ‘‘(A) preclude a cable operator from trans2 ferring a franchise to a person to which such 

3 franchise was not initially granted; or 

4 ‘‘(B) require a cable operator to which a 

5 franchise is initially granted to receive approval 

6 from the franchising authority for the transfer 

7 of such franchise to a person who to which such 

8 franchise was not initially granted. 

9 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—In the case of the trans10 fer of a franchise to a person to which such fran11 chise was not originally granted, a franchising au12 thority may require a cable operator to which a fran13 chise was initially granted to, not later than 15 days 

14 after a transfer of a franchise, notify the franchising 

15 authority in writing of such transfer. 

16 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

17 the term ‘transfer’ means the assignment rights 

18 under a franchise through any transaction, including 

19 a merger, sale, assignment, restructuring, or trans20 fer of control of a cable operator or a cable sys21 tem.’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend23 ments made by subsection (a), shall take effect 6 months 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—This section, and the amendment 

2 made by subsection (a), shall apply to a franchise grant3 ed— 

4 (1) on or after the effective date established by 

5 subsection (b); or 

6 (2) before such date, if such franchise (includ7 ing any renewal term thereof) is in effect on such 

8 date. 

Æ 


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