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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-11-01; City Council; 7554; Cable TV Resolution at NLC Congress of Cities.. M co 0\ r-1 .. (X) re, • )] Q) .:l M~ ~M n Q) tS 'l:l CIT\ OF CARLSBAD -AGEND'°' dill AB## ?.ss'{ rn DEPT. HD.of,JI# MTG. 11-1-83 CABLE TV RESOLUTION AT NLC CONGRESS OF CITIES MEETING, Nov. 27-29, 1983 CITY ATTV\J.d3. \ CITY MGR.~; DEPT._c_c __ _ RECOMMENDED ACTION: By minute motion support the City of Lakewood's Resolution relative to federal cable legislation, local authority, and cable subscriber protection. ITEM EXPLANATION: The City of Lakewood will introduce the attached resolution at the NCL Congress of Cities meeting in New Orleans, Nov. 27-29, 1983. By adopting this resolution, the NCL membership will mandate that the NLC withdraw its support for federal cable legislation until certain consumer-oriented provisions are incorporated into the bill. The U.S. House of Representatives still cites the NI.C compromise as the official stance ~f cities across the nation. FISCAL IMPACT: None EXHIBITS: 1. Letter from City of Lakewood, Oct. 19, 1983 2. City of Lakewood resolution to be introduced at National League of Cities Conference, Nov. 27-29, 1983. ~ @ NOTE: The Council, at its 11/1/83 meeting, continued this item for furthe~ ..!i > information. A copy of thu Lakewood resolution is attached to the agenda ..!i ~ bill. If Council wishes to support the Lakewood position as stated in r-1 o.. Section 1, your acticn is to direct the Mayor to send a letter to the ~ Mayor of Lakewood. z 0 fi < ... 0 z ::, 8 ,l,,rc1ut•li1w Rynerson Vic<' .1/ayor G.C. (Dee) DcDaun Co1111ci/ Member October 19, 1983 Dear Colleague: r, ,'i"" ·lt/Fo\:J,.':" l'aul E. Zeltner Mayor Larry Van Noilrnn Council ,\frmbrr noht>r~ G. Wni:ner Cou11c1I Member Re: Cable TV Resolution at NLC Congress of Cities Meeting, N~vember 27-29, 1983 The City of Lakewood will introduce the enclosed resolution at the NLC Congress of Cities meeting in New Orleans, November 27-29, It is our hope that, by adopting this resolution, the NLC membership will mandate that the NLC withdraw its support for cable legislation based on the NLC-NCTA "compromise" until certain consumer-oriented provisions are incorporated into the bill. Despite our efforts to inform members of the House of Representatives, that body atill cites the NLC compromise as the official stance of cities across the nation. Recent actions taken by the NLC Steering Committee on Transporta- tion and Communications, and by other municipal organizations, indicate to us that there is a good chance that the NLC position on the legislation can be reversed--but only if the member cities are united in their opposition to the bill in its present form, I.ast month, the NLC Transportation and Communications Steering Committee unanimously passed a resolution calling for additional consumer protections in the areas of rate regulation, the franchise renewal process, and "grandfathering" of existing franchises, The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) also unanimously approved a resolution advising the NLC to oppose federal legislation that fails to protect the interests of consumers and the rights and responsibilities of local franchising authorities to serve those interests, On October S, the League of California Cities, unanimously adopted a resolution, which I authored, in opposition to the cable bill, The state leagues of Ohio and Maryland have also gone on record recently in support of a change in NLC policy, 5050 N. Clark Ave., P.O. Box 158, Lakewood, CA 90714 213/ 866•9771-213/ 773•2964 ' I -I \ i l Page Two These developments indicate that there is a good chance that the NLC will reverse its policy if enough cities unite for a floor fight at the Congress of Cities meeting. Since the cable industry continues to wage a campaign cf misinformation in claiming that the efforts of local governments would limit the industry's ability to provide more services and that only a few "dissident" cities actually oppose the bill, it is essential that NLC policy officially be changed so that it accurately reflects the position of the membership. It is also important that cities not lose momentum as a result of th~ introduction of the Wirth Bill in the House. Although H.R. 4103 is a slight improvement over S.66, it contains the same deficiencies with respect to "grandfathering," franchise renewals, rate regulation, and the other items identified in the resolution. Cities supporting the preservation of local authority will hold a legislative strategy meeting during the NLC Congress of Cities conference, although not as an official part of the conference. For information about this "Cities for Cable" meeting--and about our resoluti0~--~lease contact Jim Barnes of my staff, 5050 Clark Avenue, Lakewood, CA 90712, telephone (213) 866-9771. We urge you to suppvrt the resolution, and to indicate your support by rettArning the enclosed reply card to me at the above address. Sincerely, k~~ Mayor itne~\ PEZ:am Enclosures .r.. P.ESOLU~ ,N OF THE NATIONAL T,BAGUE OF rIBS RELATIVE TO FEDERAL CABLE LEGISLATION, LOCht AUTHORITY AND CABLE SUBSCRIBER PROTEC'rWN By Mayor Paul E. Zeltner City of Lakewood, California WHEREAS, the provision of cable television service has already proven to be a valuable service to thousands of communities across the country and hoLds great potential to all cities; and WHEREAS, local go\•ernrnents have had the responsibility for franchising cable television syste~s in their cities and for overseeing the implementation of those franchises once awarded; a:id WHEREAS, .i·.1 most cases, cable television systems will likely enjoy ·!~clusivity within a community and will be the only telecommunications medium with a direct link to the homes of citizens with its facilities using the public's right-of-way; and WHEREAS, the presence of a strong local government role in the overseeing of franchise agreements has worked to ensure that contractual obligations are carried out and the public interest served; and WHEREAS, S.66 was approved by the u.s. Senate and is substantially the sarne as H.R. 4103, which is pending before the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives; and WHEREAS, the provisions of S.66 have been specifically opposed by the NLC Transportation and Communications policy committee and the municipal leagues of California, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming; and s.66 opposition resolutions are pending before additional municipal leagues; and WHEREAS, S.66 is in direct conflict with the cable communications provisions of the NLC National Municipal Policy, the primary NLC policy document; therefore, modifications must either be made to the existing NLC National Municipal Policy statement on cable communications or NLC's traditional ~olicy in favor of local authority over cable franchioes should be reaffirmed via this --or other similarly for~ulated --resolution; and WHEREAS, NLC's continued support of S.66 would isolate the League from its customary public interest partners on cable legislation, including the U.S. Canference of Mayors, the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers, the National Association of Counties and the Cable Television Information Center; and WHEREAS, the NLC Board of Directors in July recognized that, "There are numerous substantive concerns among cities on Vdrious portions of the compromise including franchise r~newal provisions, buy back procedures and grandf~thering of existing franchises and RFPs"; .ind WHEREAS, S.66 will enable cable operators to renege on franchise commitments in terms of services, facilities and equipment; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Leagu~ of Cities£ assembled at the 1983 Congress of Cities in New Orleans, ouisiana, as follows: ' . ' Section 1. National League of Cities support for u.s. Senate Bill 66 and House of Representatives Bill 4103 --and any other similarly formulated federal cable legislation -- is hereby withdrawn until the following modifications are made: 1.1 That federal cable legislation not limit the option of local governments to regulate the rates charged by cable operators for basic service, should cities believe rate regulation is in the public interest. 1.2 That federal cable legislation not limit the option of local governments to define uy negotiation with cable operators the definition of basic service. 1.3 That federal cable legislation provide maximum competition in the franchise renewal process with no presumption or expectancy of renewal on the part of the cable operator holding thP. franchise. l. 4 That fl:!deral cable legislation "grandfather" all existing f.ranchises, and their terms and conditions and all franchise processes in which a Request for Proposals has been issued; and that federal legislation not apply to renegotiated franchise agreements, signed within six months of enactment. 1.5 That federal cable legislation not provide cable companies with the power to abrogate contractual obligations based on a unilateral assertion by a cable operator of a significant "change in circumstances" in the cost, ~arketability, or any cable operator-controlled condition aff.ecting the availability of any cable service, facility and equipment. 1.6 That federal cable legislation not limit the ability of local governments to mandate public, educational. g~vernment, and leased access to cable television. 1.7 That federal legislation protect cities from antitrust liability for compliance with federal law. 1,8 That federal legislation limiting franchise fees not apply to fees, charges and taxes charged to a cable operator as part of a larger class, for example, utility user truces. Section 2. That Congress is urged to closely examine the potential of federal legislation in the areas of minimum technical standards, minimum cross ownership provisions, corruption of franchising processes, minimum consumer protection safeguards, minimum third-party access standards and minimum standards for interconnection. Section J. That in working with Congress in the whole area of cable communications legislation, the National League of Cities shall be guided by the principle of preserving existing municipal authority in the cable communications field, which has greatly benefited the cable television industry, the cities and nation.