An Act To Ensure Nondiscriminatory Treatment of Public, Educational and Governmental Access Channels by Cable System Operators
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1371
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: WOODSOME, BERRY, PIERCE, O'CONNOR, CHENETTE, DIAMOND, GUERIN, HERBIG, LIBBY, ORDWAY
Amends: 30-A MRSA §3008, 30-A MRSA §3010

Legislative Document
No. 1371
S.P. 426
In Senate, March 21, 2019
An Act To Ensure Nondiscriminatory Treatment of Public, 
Educational and Governmental Access Channels by Cable System 
Operators
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator WOODSOME of York.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, PIERCE of Falmouth, 
Representative O'CONNOR of Berwick and
Senators: CHENETTE of York, DIAMOND of Cumberland, GUERIN of Penobscot, HERBIG 
of Waldo, LIBBY of Androscoggin, Representative: ORDWAY of Standish.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§5, ¶¶B and C, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, 
Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 
and 10, are further amended to read:
B.  A line extension policy, which must specify a minimum density requirement of no 
more than 15 residences per linear strand mile of aerial cable for areas in which the 
cable system operator will make cable television service available to every residence;
C.  A provision for renewal, the term of which may not exceed 15 years.  A provision 
for automatic renewal or other provision for extending the initial term is prohibited.  
Franchise renewal is governed by section 3010, subsection 5-C;
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§5, ¶D, as amended by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is 
further amended to read:
D.  Procedures for the investigation and resolution of complaints by the cable system 
operator; and
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§5, ¶D-1 is enacted to read:
D-1.  A provision for the use and support of public, educational and governmental 
access channels, which must be carried in the same manner and numerical location 
sequence as are the local broadcast channels originating from the State and carried on 
the cable television system pursuant to section 3010, subsection 5-A; and
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is 
amended to read:
7.  Model franchise agreement.  The Department of Administrative and Financial 
Services, Office of Information Technology, or a successor state agency, referred to in 
this subsection as "the office," shall develop and may update and amend a model 
franchise agreement for use by any municipality and any cable system operator that 
mutually choose to adopt the model franchise agreement or any of its provisions.  A cable 
system operator may not modify or amend the model franchise agreement without the 
consent of the municipality.  The office shall make the model franchise agreement 
available on its publicly accessible website.  In the development of the model franchise 
agreement, the office shall, at a minimum, consider the following issues:
A.  Franchise fees;
B.  Build-out requirements;
C.  Public, educational and governmental access channels and reasonable facility 
support for such channels;
D.  Customer service standards;
E.  The disparate needs of the diverse municipalities in this State; and
F.  The policy goal of promoting competition in the delivery of cable television 
service.
This subsection does not allow the office to establish prices for any cable television 
service or to regulate the content of cable television service.
Sec. 5.  30-A MRSA §3010, first ¶, as amended by PL 2007, c. 548, §2, is further 
amended to read:
This section applies to every franchisee. For purposes of this section, "franchisee" 
means a cable system operator that is granted a franchise by a municipality in accordance 
with section 3008.  For purposes of this section, "cable system operator" and "cable 
television service" have the same meanings as in section 3008, except that "cable system 
operator" includes a multichannel video programming distributor as defined in 47 United 
States Code, Section 522(13).  For purposes of this section, "originator" means a local 
unit of government or the entity to which a local unit of government has assigned 
responsibility for managing public, educational and governmental access channels.
Sec. 6.  30-A MRSA §3010, sub-§§5-A, 5-B and 5-C are enacted to read:
5-A.  Public, educational and governmental access channels.  A cable system 
operator shall carry public, educational and governmental access channels on the cable 
system operator's basic cable or video service offerings or tiers.  A cable system operator 
may not separate public, educational and governmental access channels numerically from 
other local broadcast channels carried on the cable system operator's basic cable or video 
service offerings or tiers and, in the event of a franchise license transfer, shall use the 
same channel numbers for the public, educational and governmental access channels as 
used for those channels by the incumbent cable system operator, unless prohibited by 
federal law.  After the initial designation of public, educational and governmental access 
channel numbers, a cable system operator may not change the channel numbers without 
the agreement of the originator, unless the change is required by federal law.
A cable system operator shall restore a public, educational or governmental access 
channel that has been moved without the consent of the originator within the 24 months 
preceding the effective date of this subsection to its original location and channel number 
within 60 days after the effective date of this subsection.
5-B.  Transmission.  A cable system operator shall retransmit public, educational 
and governmental access channel signals in the format in which they are received from 
the originator and at the same signal quality as that provided to all subscribers of the 
cable television service for local broadcast channels.  A cable system operator may not 
diminish, down convert or otherwise tamper with the signal quality or format provided by 
the originator.  A cable system operator shall deliver a public, educational or 
governmental access channel signal to the subscriber in a quality and format equivalent to 
the quality and format of local broadcast channel signals carried on the cable television 
service if provided as such by the originator.  A cable system operator shall carry each 
public, educational or governmental access channel in both a high definition format and a 
standard digital format in the same manner as that in which local broadcast channels are 
provided, unless prohibited by federal law.
A cable system operator, when requested, shall assist in providing the originator with 
access to the entity that controls the cable television service's electronic program guide so 
that subscribers may view, select and record public, educational and governmental access 
channels in the same manner as that in which they view, select and record local broadcast 
channels.  In addition, a cable system operator shall identify public, educational and 
governmental access channels on the electronic program guide in the same manner as that 
in which local broadcast channels are identified.  This subsection does not obligate a 
cable system operator to list public, educational and governmental access channel content 
on channel cards and channel listings.  If channels are selected by a viewer through a 
menu system, the cable system operator shall display the public, educational and 
governmental access channels' designations in a similar manner as that in which local 
broadcast channel designations are displayed.
A cable system operator shall make available to the originator a toll-free telephone 
number with a direct line to a service technician who is familiar with the signal path and 
equipment associated with public, educational and governmental access channels on the 
cable television system for resolution of a signal quality problem.
5-C.  Franchise renewals.  The franchise renewal process must be conducted in 
compliance with 47 United States Code, Section 546 and this subsection.
A.  A cable system operator shall maintain adequate personnel and resources to 
respond to municipal requests for renewal information in a timely manner.  Failure to 
respond in a timely manner is a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.
B.  If an automatic renewal provision exists in a franchise agreement on the effective 
date of this subsection, the automatic renewal provision remains in effect until that 
franchise agreement expires.  The cable system operator shall notify the franchising 
authority of the automatic renewal no later than 36 months in advance of the 
expiration of the franchise.
C.  A municipality may require maps, diagrams, annual reports and franchise fee 
statements at renewal, which the cable system operator shall make available upon 
reasonable notice.  If information is proprietary, the municipality may execute a 
nondisclosure agreement with the cable system operator.
Sec. 7.  Automatic renewal.  Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
30-A, section 3010, subsection 5-C, paragraph B, an automatic renewal provision in a 
franchise agreement in effect between a municipality and a cable system operator on the 
effective date of this Act remains in effect if the renewal date is less than 36 months after 
the effective date of this Act. 
SUMMARY
This bill extends cable television service to rural areas by requiring all cable 
television franchises to provide line extensions with a minimum homes-per-mile 
requirement not to exceed 15 homes per mile.
The bill prohibits automatic franchise renewals beyond the initial term of the 
franchise renewal period, except for automatic franchise renewals in effect on the 
effective date of this legislation, which require advance notification of expiration from 
the cable system operator to the municipality.  A cable system operator may not refuse to 
provide the municipality with required information to complete the renewal process.
The bill prohibits a cable system operator from modifying or amending the State's 
model franchise agreement without the consent of the municipality as arrived at during 
negotiations.
The bill includes provisions for the use and support of public, educational and 
governmental access channels and requires that these channels be placed in the same 
numerical sequence location as the local commercial network broadcast channels.  The 
bill also requires all cable system operators in the State to carry public, educational and 
governmental access channels on the basic cable or video service offerings or tiers and 
specifies that the channels may not be separated or moved numerically from other 
channels carried on the basic cable or video service offerings or tiers without the 
agreement of the local unit of government or the entity to which the local unit of 
government has assigned responsibility for managing public, educational and 
governmental access channels, unless the change is required by federal law.  In the event 
of transfer of the franchise license, the same channel numbers used by the incumbent 
cable system operator must be retained.  The bill provides that any public, educational or 
governmental access channel that has been moved within the 24 months preceding the 
effective date of this legislation and without the consent of the originator must be restored 
within 60 days to its original location and number.
The bill requires all cable system operators in the State to work with the local unit of 
government or the entity to which the local unit of government has assigned 
responsibility for managing public, educational and governmental access channels to 
ensure that the signal sent from the point of origination to the cable system operator and 
delivered to the cable subscriber is of the same quality and format as originally created.  
A cable system operator is required to set up a toll-free telephone number for requests to 
resolve a signal quality problem.
The bill requires all cable system operators in the State to provide the local unit of 
government or the entity to which the local unit of government has assigned 
responsibility for managing public, educational and governmental access channels access 
to the entity that controls the electronic program guides in the same manner as the local 
broadcast channels if requested by the local unit of government or the entity to which the 
local unit of government has assigned responsibility for managing public, educational and 
governmental access channels.  In addition, if channels are selected through a menu 
system, public, educational and governmental access channel designations must be 
displayed in a similar manner as local broadcast channel designations on the electronic 
program guide are displayed.