March 26, 2008, Introduced by Senators OLSHOVE, ANDERSON, CHERRY, SANBORN, PAPPAGEORGE, GLEASON, SCOTT, BASHAM and GEORGE and referred to the Committee on Energy Policy and Public Utilities.
A bill to amend 2006 PA 480, entitled
"Uniform video services local franchise act,"
by amending section 4 (MCL 484.3304).
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 4. (1) A video service provider shall designate a
sufficient amount of capacity on its network to provide for the
same number of public, education, and government access channels
that are in actual use on the incumbent video provider system on
the
effective date of this act January
1, 2007 or as provided under
subsection (14). A video service provider, including a provider
operating under an existing franchise agreement, shall provide
public, education, and government channels to subscribers at
equivalent visual and audio quality and equivalent functionality
and accessibility, from the viewing perspective of the subscriber,
to that of commercial channels carried on the provider's lowest
tier of service and without the need for any equipment other than
the equipment necessary to receive any commercial channel carried
on the lowest tier of service. A video service provider shall
provide public, education, and government channels at no charge.
(2) Any public, education, or government channel provided
under this section that is not utilized by the franchising entity
for at least 8 hours per day for 3 consecutive months may no longer
be made available to the franchising entity and may be programmed
at the provider's discretion. At such time as the franchising
entity can certify a schedule for at least 8 hours of daily
programming for a period of 3 consecutive months, the provider
shall restore the previously reallocated channel.
(3) The franchising entity shall ensure that all
transmissions, content, or programming to be retransmitted by a
video service provider is provided in a manner or form that is
capable of being accepted and retransmitted by a provider, without
requirement for additional alteration or change in the content by
the provider, over the particular network of the provider, which is
compatible with the technology or protocol utilized by the provider
to deliver services.
(4) A video service provider may request that an incumbent
video provider interconnect with its video system for the sole
purpose of providing access to video programming that is being
provided over public, education, and government channels for a
franchising entity that is served by both providers. Where
technically feasible, interconnection shall be allowed under an
agreement of the parties. The video service provider and incumbent
video provider shall negotiate in good faith and may not
unreasonably withhold interconnection. Interconnection may be
accomplished by any reasonable method as agreed to by the
providers. The requesting video service provider shall pay the
construction, operation, maintenance, and other costs arising out
of the interconnection, including the reasonable costs incurred by
the incumbent provider.
(5) The person producing the broadcasts is solely responsible
for all content provided over designated public, education, or
government channels. A video service provider shall not exercise
any editorial control over any programming on any channel designed
for public, education, or government use.
(6) A video service provider is not subject to any civil or
criminal liability for any program carried on any channel
designated for public, education, or government use.
(7) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (8), a provider
shall provide subscribers access to the signals of the local
broadcast television station licensed by the federal communications
commission to serve those subscribers over the air. This section
does not apply to a low-power station unless the station is a
qualified low-power station as defined under 47 USC 534(h)(2). A
provider is required to only carry digital broadcast signals to the
extent that a broadcast television station has the right under
federal law or regulation to demand carriage of the digital
broadcast signals by a cable operator on a cable system.
(8) To facilitate access by subscribers of a video service
provider to the signals of local broadcast stations under this
section, a station either shall be granted mandatory carriage or
may request retransmission consent with the provider.
(9) A provider shall transmit, without degradation, the
signals a local broadcast station delivers to the provider. A
provider is not required to provide a television station valuable
consideration in exchange for carriage.
(10) A provider shall not do either of the following:
(a) Discriminate among or between broadcast stations and
programming providers with respect to transmission of their
signals, taking into account any consideration afforded the
provider by the programming provider or broadcast station. In no
event shall the signal quality as retransmitted by the provider be
required to be superior to the signal quality of the broadcast
stations as received by the provider from the broadcast television
station.
(b) Delete, change, or alter a copyright identification
transmitted as part of a broadcast station's signal.
(11) A provider shall not be required to utilize the same or
similar reception technology as the broadcast stations or
programming providers.
(12) A public, education, or government channel shall only be
used for noncommercial purposes.
(13) Subsections (7) to (11) apply only to a video service
provider that delivers video programming in a video service area
where the provider is not regulated as a cable operator under
federal law.
(14) If a franchising entity seeks to utilize capacity
designated under subsection (1) or an agreement under section 13 to
provide access to video programming over 1 or more public,
governmental,
and education, and government channels, the
franchising entity shall give the provider a written request
specifying the number of channels in actual use on the incumbent
video provider's system or specified in the agreement entered into
under section 13. The video service provider shall have 90 days to
begin providing access as requested by the franchising entity.