Senate Bill No. 733

(By Senators Bowman, Caldwell, Jenkins, McCabe, Minard, Snyder, White, Boley and Minear)

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[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;

reported March 3, 2004.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §24D-1-18, §24D-1-22 and §24D-1-25 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the cable television systems act; eliminating the complaint process to the public service commission; and eliminating the twelve-cent annual fee.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24D-1-18, §24D-1-22 and §24D-1-25 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS ACT.
§24D-1-18. Notice to subscribers regarding quality of service.
(a) Annually, every cable operator shall mail to each of its subscribers a notice which:
(1) Informs subscribers how to communicate their views and complaints to the cable operator and to the commission;
(2) States the responsibility of the commission to receive and act on consumer complaints concerning matters other than channel selection, programming and rates; and
(3) (2) States the policy regarding the method by which subscribers may request rebates or pro rata credit as described in section sixteen of this article.
(b) The notice shall be in nontechnical language, understandable by the general public and in a convenient format. On or before the thirtieth day of January each year, the operator shall certify to the franchising authority and the commission that it has distributed the notice as provided in this section during the previous calendar year as required by this section.
§24D-1-22. Violations; penalties.
(a) Complaints of affected parties regarding the operation of a cable system must be made in writing and filed with the commission. The commission shall take up such complaints with the cable operator complained against in an endeavor to bring about satisfaction of the complaint without formal hearing. The commission shall not consider any complaint involving programming or any other issue that is preempted by federal law.
 (b) The commission shall resolve all complaints, if possible informally. No form of informal complaint is prescribed, but the writing must contain the essential elements of a complaint, including the name and address of the complainant, the correct name of the cable operator against which the complaint is made, a clear and concise statement of the facts involved and a request for affirmative relief.
 (c) In the event that the commission cannot resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of all parties, the complainant may file a formal request to the commission and the complainant and cable operator shall be afforded all rights including the right of appeal as set forth in chapter twenty-four of this code.
(d) (a) A cable operator may be subject to a fine or civil penalty in accordance with subsection (e) hereof (b) of this section upon a determination by the commission or a court that the cable operator has violated any of the following:
(1) The material terms of its cable franchise; or
(2) Substantial compliance with this article or rules or orders prescribed by the commission.
(e) The commission (b) A court may fine or obtain assess civil penalties against a cable operator for each violation of subsection (d) (a) of this section in an amount not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each violation. Any penalty assessed under this section is in addition to any other costs, expenses or payments for which the cable operator is responsible under other provisions of this section.
(f) (c) In addition to fines and civil penalties, the commission a court may determine and declare and by order require, for violation of subsection (d) (a) of this section, the cable operator to comply with the terms of its franchise or the requirements of this article or orders prescribed by the commission rules.
(g)(d) No cable operator may raise rates or retier and charge subscribers without providing to his or her subscribers sufficient advance written notice and opportunity to discontinue service.
 §24D-1-25. Effect of application and filing fees on franchise fees.
(a) Each cable operator shall pay to the commission an annual fee in an amount of twelve cents per subscriber. Such funds and all other funds Funds to be paid to the commission under the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited into a special fund designated the "cable fund". Such fund shall be used for purposes of administering the provisions of this article. To the extent permitted by federal law, the commission may prohibit cable operators from assessing subscribers for any contribution toward the annual fee to be paid hereunder.
(b) Any filing fee required under the provisions of this chapter, and the annual fee to be paid to the commission under the provisions of this section together with any franchise fee paid to any franchising authority, may not exceed the maximum amount for any franchise fee as set forth in 47 U. S. C. §542 as the same is in effect on the effective date of this article.
(c) The commission shall not impose on or collect from any cable operator franchise fees when acting in the capacity as a franchising authority other than fees set out in subsection (a) of this section and any filing fee required by this article.