Res. #05-040 - Opposition to S.1504

Home Browse Search

· These requirements and restrictions would result in the creation of a subsidy to the cable and telecommunications industries; at the expense of the City's taxpayers; · The bill would further substantially reduce the revenues that are now includable in the definition of "Gross Revenues" so that even if the franchise fee did in fact remain at 5%, the City's revenues from the fee would be significantly less due to the smaller revenue base; · The bill would substantially reduce the amount of capacity which may be required by local governments to meet their public, educational and government ("PEG") access needs, while stripping the City of the ability to obtain capital support for the use of PEG capacity - part of the bargain contained within the City's negotiated franchise agreement - with the result that the community's cable-related needs and interests would not be met; · The bill would deprive local citizens of the ability to address local issues locally, by removing to the state all customer service issues, and further by denying consumers any form of recourse for any actions of a communications provider; · The bill would eliminate any build-out requirements for any video service provider, thereby allowing providers to discriminate based on the wealth of the local neighborhoods they choose to serve; · The bill would preempt any state or local law that is not generally applicable to all businesses, thereby potentially preempting any law applicable to only certain classes of businesses, such as utilities and rights-of-way users (such as requiring undergrounding of facilities and ensuring electric code compliance); · The bill would prohibit the City from imposing any fee for issuance of rights-of- way construction permits yet would require the City to act on requests for permits in a timely manner as determined by the FCC, thereby insinuating inappropriate federal government involvement in the basic day-to-day management of local rights-of-way; · The bill would prohibit municipalities and their utilities from providing communications services without giving a right of first refusal to private industry, and would then grant industry unfettered access to all municipal facilities and financing in the event private industry chooses to provide services; · The bill would deprive the City of the authority to establish and maintain government owned and operated networks, known as institutional networks, that may be utilized by first responders and other government officials in the day-to- day management of the City's business;