03-23-1992 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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House Takes On ReregulationVbietnte Pasdelouplai HiLR the D ust From Tiif B attle WW ovw Senate bill S.12 settles, the Hwmbere of the House of Representa tives are crafting cable legislation that could appeal to a reregulation-shy Bush administration and a Congress under prissure from industry groups. As soon as the Senate passed S12 bjr a 73-18 margin on Jan. 31. Rep. Ed- awd Marfcey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Telecommunications and Fi nance Subcommittee, announced his intention to hold a hearing as early as mid-March to mark up a cable bill that could pass the House. In November 1990. the House fttssed a cable Hill on a unanimous voice vote, but its language wa5 signif- kantly different from S.12. Markey reintroduced the bill in 1991 under the number H.R.1303. Other cable bills pending before the subcommittee include: ■ H.R.3380. Introduced by Rep. Dennis Eckart (DOhio) and Rep. Jack WHICH WAY WILL THEY GO? D'csv voted for {hp S 5ut> Bfituir ord fc S 12 ^r.v f/’p our.'f^on /s ’ vvDL/id do in the ownt of n vcUi? (D “<Cv : Kr.’rn (R',ViS | C-n'p.. (RRi; \*r-rjy . {D'^OS' D A'T’o'o .'RN,y ; Lc;t FovvTf ’PG-w'i (R-'fk.) fintc*' ^Npk'ps (ROkla Hatfii'd fROrp) Seymour (R-Calif, JCfford<5 (RVt ) Smip^on (RWyo, JoMriston (DLa.) Specter (RPa.) Fields (R-Texas). It has the same re transmission consent provision as S 12.■ H.R.3.')60. Introduced by Eckart. It is mostly favorable to cities.■ H.R.2546. Introduced by Rep Rick Boucher (D-Va.). It would let telephone companies into the cable television business. The subcommittee leadership’s task in passing a veto-proof bill is complicated. It would be tricky to just add retransmission consent provi sions to the Markey bill because its language tightly ties rate regulation to must-carry. Moving a bill similar to S.12 pre sents another set of problems because Republicans on the subcommittee would oppose it Working with the Re publicans could lead to letting the telephone companies into the debate and further complicate the issues. The United States Telephone Associa tion had a neutral bosition on S. 12. White House lobbyists mei See REREQUUTION on pa^e 2b Here are some provisons In the Senate's reregulation bill S. 12 that wouM most affect daytoday operatJorts at cable systems: ■ Rate regulation: Local franchising authorities can regu late basic rates unless the system Is subject to effective competition according to FCC standards. If fewer th jn 30 percent of subscribers choose basic service, rate', for *he next level of sorvice can be regulated. Any ratn Inat the FCC finds 'unreasonable* can be regulated afte' a subscriber or franchising authority complains about ft ■ Rotranamlaalen consent: The FCC wiil establish regula tions on retransmission consent and ensure that basic rates remain reasonable throughout the process. Every three years, broadcast stations wilt have to choose between being carried for free or negotiating payment for carriage. ■ Muat-oaiTy: Systems with at least 12 channels must carry local commercial stations on up to ona^hlrd of their channel capacity. ■ Customer service: 1 j FCC will establish customer-ser- vlca requirements that can be superseded by local or state regulations. ■ Technical standards: The FCC will set minimum techni cal standards and procedures to file complaints against erators whose signal quality is poor. ■ Negative options: Subscribers can't be charged for a service or equipment they didn't request by name. ■ Premium channel promotions: Operators must gh/« ad vance rwtice to subscribers about any free premium-channel promotions mat Include films rated X, NR-17 or R at least 60 days In adv ice. Those channels aisc must be blocked upon a customer's request. Action Moves To House After S.12 Vote RB'iEQULATION coniu. jed from page 3 the Republican members of the House Teiecommunications and Rnance Sub- wmmittee on Feb, 5 to discuss strate gics. It is too early to talk about a con sensus on what could be done, accord ing to Capitol Hill sources. Some Re- pubUcans, such as Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio). support telco entry. Others, such as rlclds. are in favor of retrans mission consent. "We're still fluid,” said a Republican source. Republican members are caught in the quandary of rejecting cable rereg ulation and wate'niug ''able rates rise or voting for a bill that lncl.:'1e8 re* transmission consent and watchl.'.o cable rates rise, said one Capitol Hill source. Retransmission consent provi sions in a cable bQI take away some of its pro-consumer luster and could maxe it easier for the President to vf .0 it in an election year. Another obstacle may lie in the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Jack ’ Brooks (D Texas) has said he will seek jurisdiction over any cable bill that Includes retransmission consenL Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Arir.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Com mittee, has said he wants to be includ ed in the conference on S.12. Rep. William Hughes (D-NJ ), chairman of the intellectual Property and Judicial Administration Subcommittee, held a fourth inter industry meeting on ca ble ’s compulsory license on Feb. 6. Cable cannot five with a combination of mandatory access to its program ming, retransmission consent and com pulsory license, such as is in S12, said David ^dersen. vice president of pub lic affairs for Cox Cable Communica tions. Cox Cable ’s parent Cox Enter prises, "has not shut its mind on re transmission consent." said Alex Netchvolodoft the company’s vice pres ident ct go\emment affati s, but "we haven ’t seen a workable version yet" Among operators, the t • evalting .mood is frustration, said Rob Stod dard, vice president of communica tions for the Community Antenna Television Association. *A lot of talks are going on among (operating company) executives," said an industry observer, but a strategy has not hero developed. ' - "Sr-