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91_HB0451
LRB9102906DHmg
1 AN ACT concerning community antenna television systems.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
5 changing Section 11-42-11 as follows:
6 (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-42-11)
7 Sec. 11-42-11. Community antenna television systems;
8 satellite transmitted television programming.
9 (a) The corporate authorities of each municipality may
10 license, franchise and tax the business of operating a
11 community antenna television system as hereinafter defined in
12 this Section. In municipalities with less than 2,000,000
13 inhabitants, the corporate authorities may own (or lease as
14 lessee) and operate a community antenna television system.
15 Before acquiring, constructing, or commencing operation of a
16 community antenna television system, the municipality shall
17 comply with the following:
18 (1) Give written notice to the owner or operator of
19 any other community antenna television system franchised
20 to serve all or any portion of the territorial area to be
21 served by the municipality's community antenna television
22 system, specifying the date, time, and place at which the
23 municipality shall conduct public hearings to consider
24 and determine whether the municipality should acquire,
25 construct, or commence operation of a community antenna
26 television system. The public hearings shall be
27 conducted at least 14 days after this notice is given.
28 (2) Publish a notice of the hearing in 2 or more
29 newspapers published in the county, city, village,
30 incorporated town, or town, as the case may be. If there
31 is no such newspaper, then notice shall be published in
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1 any 2 or more newspapers published in the county and
2 having a general circulation throughout the community.
3 The public hearings shall be conducted at least 14 days
4 after this notice is given.
5 (3) Conduct a public hearing to determine the means
6 by which construction, maintenance, and operation of the
7 system will be financed, including whether the use of tax
8 revenues or other fees will be required.
9 (b) The words "community antenna television system"
10 shall mean any facility which is constructed in whole or in
11 part in, on, under or over any highway or other public place
12 and which is operated to perform for hire the service of
13 receiving and amplifying the signals broadcast by one or more
14 television stations and redistributing such signals by wire,
15 cable or other means to members of the public who subscribe
16 to such service; except that such definition shall not
17 include (i) any system which serves fewer than fifty
18 subscribers, or (ii) any system which serves only the
19 residents of one or more apartment dwellings under common
20 ownership, control or management, and commercial
21 establishments located on the premises of such dwellings.
22 (c) The authority hereby granted does not include
23 authority to license, franchise or tax telephone companies
24 subject to jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission
25 or the Federal Communications Commission in connection with
26 the furnishing of circuits, wires, cables, and other
27 facilities to the operator of a community antenna television
28 system.
29 The corporate authorities of each municipality may, in
30 the course of franchising such community antenna television
31 system, grant to such franchisee the authority and the right
32 and permission to use all public streets, rights of way,
33 alleys, ways for public service facilities, parks,
34 playgrounds, school grounds, or other public grounds, in
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1 which such municipality may have an interest, for the
2 construction, installation, operation, maintenance,
3 alteration, addition, extension or improvement of a community
4 antenna television system.
5 Any charge imposed by a community antenna television
6 system franchised pursuant to this Section for the raising or
7 removal of cables or lines to permit passage on, to or from a
8 street shall not exceed the reasonable costs of work
9 reasonably necessary to safely permit such passage. Pursuant
10 to subsections (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the
11 Constitution of the State of Illinois, the General Assembly
12 declares the regulation of charges which may be imposed by
13 community antenna television systems for the raising or
14 removal of cables or lines to permit passage on, to or from
15 streets is a power or function to be exercised exclusively by
16 the State and not to be exercised or performed concurrently
17 with the State by any unit of local government, including any
18 home rule unit.
19 The municipality may, upon written request by the
20 franchisee of a community antenna television system, exercise
21 its right of eminent domain solely for the purpose of
22 granting an easement right no greater than 8 feet in width,
23 extending no greater than 8 feet from any lot line for the
24 purpose of extending cable across any parcel of property in
25 the manner provided by the law of eminent domain, provided,
26 however, such franchisee deposits with the municipality
27 sufficient security to pay all costs incurred by the
28 municipality in the exercise of its right of eminent domain.
29 (d) The General Assembly finds and declares that
30 satellite-transmitted television programming should be
31 available to those who desire to subscribe to such
32 programming and that decoding devices should be obtainable at
33 reasonable prices by those who are unable to obtain
34 satellite-transmitted television programming through duly
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1 franchised community antenna television systems.
2 In any instance in which a person is unable to obtain
3 satellite-transmitted television programming through a duly
4 franchised community antenna television system either because
5 the municipality and county in which such person resides has
6 not granted a franchise to operate and maintain a community
7 antenna television system, or because the duly franchised
8 community antenna television system operator does not make
9 cable television services available to such person, any
10 programming company that delivers satellite-transmitted
11 television programming in scrambled or encrypted form shall
12 ensure that devices for description of such programming are
13 made available to such person, through the local community
14 antenna television operator or directly, for purchase or
15 lease at prices reasonably related to the cost of manufacture
16 and distribution of such devices.
17 (e) The General Assembly finds and declares that, in
18 order to ensure that community antenna television services
19 are provided in an orderly, competitive and economically
20 sound manner, the best interests of the public will be served
21 by the establishment of certain minimum standards and
22 procedures for the granting of additional cable television
23 franchises.
24 Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the
25 authority granted under subsection (a) hereof shall include
26 the authority to license, franchise and tax more than one
27 cable operator to provide community antenna television
28 services within the corporate limits of a single franchising
29 authority. For purposes of this subsection (e), the term:
30 (i) "Existing cable television franchise" means a
31 community antenna television franchise granted by a
32 municipality which is in use at the time such
33 municipality receives an application or request by
34 another cable operator for a franchise to provide cable
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1 antenna television services within all or any portion of
2 the territorial area which is or may be served under the
3 existing cable television franchise.
4 (ii) "Additional cable television franchise" means
5 a franchise pursuant to which community antenna
6 television services may be provided within the
7 territorial areas, or any portion thereof, which may be
8 served under an existing cable television franchise.
9 (iii) "Franchising Authority" is defined as that
10 term is defined under Section 602(9) of the Cable
11 Communications Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549, but
12 does not include any municipality with a population of
13 1,000,000 or more.
14 (iv) "Cable operator" is defined as that term is
15 defined under Section 602(4) of the Cable Communications
16 Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549.
17 Before granting an additional cable television franchise,
18 the franchising authority shall:
19 (1) Give written notice to the owner or operator of
20 any other community antenna television system franchised
21 to serve all or any portion of the territorial area to be
22 served by such additional cable television franchise,
23 identifying the applicant for such additional franchise
24 and specifying the date, time and place at which the
25 franchising authority shall conduct public hearings to
26 consider and determine whether such additional cable
27 television franchise should be granted.
28 (2) Conduct a public hearing to determine the
29 public need for such additional cable television
30 franchise, the capacity of public rights-of-way to
31 accommodate such additional community antenna television
32 services, the potential disruption to existing users of
33 public rights-of-way to be used by such additional
34 franchise applicant to complete construction and to
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1 provide cable television services within the proposed
2 franchise area, the long term economic impact of such
3 additional cable television system within the community,
4 and such other factors as the franchising authority shall
5 deem appropriate.
6 (3) Determine, based upon the foregoing factors,
7 whether it is in the best interest of the municipality to
8 grant such additional cable television franchise.
9 (4) If the franchising authority shall determine
10 that it is in the best interest of the municipality to do
11 so, it may grant the additional cable television
12 franchise. Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this
13 subsection (e), no such additional cable television
14 franchise shall be granted under terms or conditions more
15 favorable or less burdensome to the applicant than those
16 required under the existing cable television franchise,
17 including but not limited to terms and conditions
18 pertaining to the territorial extent of the franchise,
19 system design, technical performance standards,
20 construction schedules, performance bonds, standards for
21 construction and installation of cable television
22 facilities, service to subscribers, public educational
23 and governmental access channels and programming,
24 production assistance, liability and indemnification, and
25 franchise fees.
26 (5) Unless the existing cable television franchise
27 provides that any additional cable television franchise
28 shall be subject to the same terms or substantially
29 equivalent terms and conditions as those of the existing
30 cable television franchise, the franchising authority may
31 grant an additional cable television franchise under
32 different terms and conditions than those of the existing
33 franchise, in which event the franchising authority shall
34 enter into good faith negotiations with the existing
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1 franchisee and shall, within 120 days after the effective
2 date of the additional cable television franchise, modify
3 the existing cable television franchise in a manner and
4 to the extent necessary to ensure that neither the
5 existing cable television franchise nor the additional
6 cable television franchise, each considered in its
7 entirety, provides a competitive advantage over the
8 other, provided that prior to modifying the existing
9 cable television franchise, the franchising authority
10 shall have conducted a public hearing to consider the
11 proposed modification. No modification in the terms and
12 conditions of the existing cable television franchise
13 shall oblige the existing cable television franchisee (1)
14 to make any additional payment to the franchising
15 authority, including the payment of any additional
16 franchise fee, (2) to engage in any additional
17 construction of the existing cable television system or,
18 (3) to modify the specifications or design of the
19 existing cable television system; and the inclusion of
20 the factors identified in items (2) and (3) shall not be
21 considered in determining whether either franchise
22 considered in its entirety, has a competitive advantage
23 over the other except to the extent that the additional
24 franchisee provides additional video or data services or
25 the equipment or facilities necessary to generate and or
26 carry such service. No modification in the terms and
27 conditions of the existing cable television franchise
28 shall be made if the existing cable television franchisee
29 elects to continue to operate under all terms and
30 conditions of the existing franchise.
31 If within the 120 day period the franchising
32 authority and the existing cable television franchisee
33 are unable to reach agreement on modifications to the
34 existing cable television franchise, then the franchising
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1 authority shall modify the existing cable television
2 franchise, effective 45 days thereafter, in a manner, and
3 only to the extent, that the terms and conditions of the
4 existing cable television franchise shall no longer
5 impose any duty or obligation on the existing franchisee
6 which is not also imposed under the additional cable
7 television franchise; however, if by the modification the
8 existing cable television franchisee is relieved of
9 duties or obligations not imposed under the additional
10 cable television franchise, then within the same 45 days
11 and following a public hearing concerning modification of
12 the additional cable television franchise within that 45
13 day period, the franchising authority shall modify the
14 additional cable television franchise to the extent
15 necessary to insure that neither the existing cable
16 television franchise nor the additional cable television
17 franchise, each considered in its entirety, shall have a
18 competitive advantage over the other.
19 No municipality shall be subject to suit for damages
20 based upon the municipality's determination to grant or its
21 refusal to grant an additional cable television franchise,
22 provided that a public hearing as herein provided has been
23 held and the franchising authority has determined that it is
24 in the best interest of the municipality to grant or refuse
25 to grant such additional franchise, as the case may be.
26 It is declared to be the law of this State, pursuant to
27 paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the
28 Illinois Constitution, that the establishment of minimum
29 standards and procedures for the granting of additional cable
30 television franchises by municipalities with a population
31 less than 1,000,000 as provided in this subsection (e) is an
32 exclusive State power and function that may not be exercised
33 concurrently by a home rule unit.
34 (Source: P.A. 89-657, eff. 8-14-96; 90-285, eff. 7-31-97.)