BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 39|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 39
Author: Hernández (D), et al.
Amended: 6/17/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-1, 4/3/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Cable and video service
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the U.S. Congress to amend a
specified federal law to allow states and their municipalities
to determine the best use of public, educational, and government
(PEG) channel support.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/17/14 strike language relating to
the availability of PEG channels "to the entire community" and
replace it with language to ensure availability of PEG-channel
facilities "to provide local opportunities for skill-building
and professional development for students and workers." Also
adds a coauthor.
ANALYSIS : This resolution calls on the U.S. Congress to amend
Section 542 of Title 47 of the U.S. Code to:
1.Allow states and their municipalities to determine the best
use of PEG channel support.
2.Restore and protect funding for PEG operations.
CONTINUED
AJR 39
Page
2
3.Allow states and local governments the flexibility to use PEG
funding for legitimate expenses other than capitol expenses.
4.Ensure PEG channels are transmitted without charge to local
governments.
Background
PEG channels are public access channels that afford citizens
with the opportunity to connect with their communities, engage
in civic activity, and obtain cultural information. Although
PEG channels are not mandated by federal law, the law stipulates
how PEG channels fees can be used by local franchising
authorities. Cable subscribers pay 5% of their bill as a
franchise fee to the local government, and local governments
cannot impose additional costs beyond that 5%. However, federal
law does require a cable television service provider to set
aside channel capacity and provide financial support for PEG
access channels and restricts PEG channel funds to capital
expenses such as equipment, maintenance, upgrades and studio
staging. The federal government wanted to ensure local
governments were contributing to the community as well, thus
limiting the 1% PEG fee to capital expenditures. This provision
has not been updated in federal law since 1984.
In 2006, the Legislature passed the Digital Infrastructure and
Video Competition Act (DIVCA) with goals to promote rapid,
widespread competition in broadband and video markets and
accelerate the deployment of additional infrastructure in
California. DIVCA is implemented by the Public Utilities
Commission and addresses video franchising and other broadband
related issues. DIVCA fundamentally changed video franchising
within California by transferring the authority for issuing
franchises for the provision of video services from local
entities to the State of California. Historically, local
entities, primarily cities, counties and special districts
issued cable television franchises. This required cable
operators to negotiate separate franchise agreements with each
locality where they wished to provide video service.
Some jurisdictions used PEG fees to open PEG access centers.
These centers provide community groups and individuals free
access to video production facilities and equipment. According
CONTINUED
AJR 39
Page
3
to the author, since 2007 approximately 51 PEG access centers
have closed. It is unknown how many of these centers remain
open.
Some may argue that at the time the United States Federal
Communications Commission began requiring cable operators to
provide local origination programming to connect communities,
mass communication was limited to local newspapers, public
broadcasting, and cable television systems. Today, individuals
can communicate to their communities through emerging broadband
technologies like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, enhancing the
right to "freedom of speech" to new levels. With the
availability of these new and emerging technologies, requiring
cable companies to continue to provide a channel for PEG
programming may no longer be necessary.
Comments
According to the author, "PEG channels are public-access
channels that connect citizens to their communities, and to
greater political, educational, and cultural information. PEG
channels are not mandated by federal law. However, the federal
Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 amended the
Communications Act of 1934 to allow local franchising
authorities to require a cable television service provider to
set aside channel capacity and provide financial support for PEG
access channels. There exists a continued threat to PEG
services in California and across the country. Concerns include
excessively low PEG channel revenue streams and lack of
protection against video providers charging municipalities for
the transmission on PEG channels. Additionally, PEG funds are
restricted only for the use of capital expenses (equipment,
maintenance, upgrades, sets) and not operational expenses
(labor, administration, research). This resolution allows
states and their municipalities to determine the best use of PEG
channel support."
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/18/14)
Access Sacramento
Chamber of Commerce Mountain View
Cities of Antioch, Burbank, Camarillo, Fremont, Glendale,
CONTINUED
AJR 39
Page
4
Lakewood, Lawndale, Long Beach, Los Altos, Martinez, Moorpark,
Palmdale, Pleasant Hill, San Jose, Stanton, Thousand Oaks, and
Whittier
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
County of Los Angeles
CreaTV San Jose
KMVT 15 Silicon Valley Community Media
KOCT-The Oceanside Channels
KSAR 15 Saratoga Community Television
League of California Cities
Long Beach Community Action Partnership
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Marin Telecommunications Agency
Public Cable Television Authority
ReSurge International
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
StateComm
Towns of Danville and Fairfax
Tri-Valley Cities: Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton
Tri-Valley Community Television
TV Santa Barbara
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/18/14)
California Cable & Telecommunications Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The City of Whittier (which operates
one PEG channel to show City Council meetings, Planning
Commission meetings, public hearings, candidate forums, and
other events important to the community) states, "our residents
are typically very engaged in local issues and rely on this
information to develop their opinions so they can provide
educated public input to local governance. The Whittier City
Council unanimously supports the PEG channel as a very effective
means of making government activities transparent and open. AJR
39 is important to the City of Whittier as it will remove use
restrictions on PEG channel access fees and prevent video
providers from charging municipalities for transmission of PEG
channels. The measure will allow us the flexibility to use PEG
funding for operational expenses as well as capital expenses."
The Marin Telecommunications Agency writes, "AJR 39 will provide
solutions for critical and immediate threats to PEG channels and
facilities in California and across the country by removing use
CONTINUED
AJR 39
Page
5
restrictions on PEG channel access fees, restoring PEG channel
revenue streams, and preventing video providers from charging
municipalities for the transmission of the PEG channels."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Cable &
Telecommunications Association writes, "AJR 39 calls on the
United States Congress to amend federal law to allow states and
their municipalities to determine the best use of the 1% PEG fee
paid by cable companies. Given the funding currently available
to local governments that can be used to pay for any costs
associated with the provision of PEG, there simply is no basis
to assume that local governments cannot now provide full funding
support for PEG programming."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-1, 4/3/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Patterson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Bigelow, Dababneh, Donnelly, Beth
Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Vacancy
MW:e 6/18/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED