CABLE Competition Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3314 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit franchising authorities from requiring approval for the sale of cable systems, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2023 Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit fran- chising authorities from requiring approval for the sale of cable systems, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Access to 4 Broadband for Local Economies and Competition Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘CABLE Competition Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. SALES OF CABLE SYSTEMS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 627 of the Communica- 8 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 547) is amended to read 9 as follows: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3314.IH H3314 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3314 IH ‘‘SEC. 627. CONDITIONS OF SALE OR TRANSFER. 1 ‘‘(a) VALUE OF CABLE SYSTEM UPON SALE OR 2 TRANSFER.— 3 ‘‘(1) AFTER DENIAL OF FRANCHISE RE- 4 NEWAL.—If a renewal of a franchise held by a cable 5 operator is denied and the franchising authority ac- 6 quires ownership of the cable system or effects a 7 transfer of ownership of the system to another per- 8 son, any such acquisition or transfer shall be at fair 9 market value, determined on the basis of the cable 10 system valued as a going concern but with no value 11 allocated to the franchise itself. 12 ‘‘(2) AFTER REVOCATION OF FRANCHISE FOR 13 CAUSE.—If a franchise held by a cable operator is 14 revoked for cause and the franchising authority ac- 15 quires ownership of the cable system or effects a 16 transfer of ownership of the system to another per- 17 son, any such acquisition or transfer shall be at fair 18 market value, determined on the basis of the cable 19 system valued as a going concern but with no value 20 allocated to the franchise itself. 21 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY OF FRANCHISING 22 AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT TO TRANSFER OF FRAN- 23 CHISE.— 24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A franchising authority 25 may not— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3314.IH H3314 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3314 IH ‘‘(A) preclude a cable operator from trans- 1 ferring a franchise to any person to which such 2 franchise was not initially granted; or 3 ‘‘(B) require a cable operator to which a 4 franchise was initially granted to receive ap- 5 proval from the franchising authority for the 6 transfer of such franchise to a person who ac- 7 cepts all of the terms of the franchise in effect 8 for the cable operator at the time of the trans- 9 fer. 10 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—In the case of the trans- 11 fer of a franchise to a person to which such fran- 12 chise was not originally granted, a franchising au- 13 thority may require a cable operator to which a fran- 14 chise was initially granted to, not later than 15 days 15 after a transfer of a franchise, notify the franchising 16 authority in writing of such transfer. 17 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF A FRANCHISE DEFINED.— 18 In this subsection, the term ‘transfer of a franchise’ 19 means the transfer or assignment of any rights 20 under a franchise through any transaction, including 21 through— 22 ‘‘(A) a merger involving the cable operator 23 or cable system; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3314.IH H3314 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3314 IH ‘‘(B) a sale of the cable operator or cable 1 system; 2 ‘‘(C) an assignment of the cable operator 3 or a cable system; 4 ‘‘(D) a restructuring of a cable operator or 5 a cable system; or 6 ‘‘(E) the transfer of control of a cable op- 7 erator or a cable system.’’. 8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend- 9 ment made by subsection (a), shall take effect 6 months 10 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 11 (c) APPLICATION.—This section, and the amendment 12 made by subsection (a), shall apply to a franchise grant- 13 ed— 14 (1) on or after the effective date established by 15 subsection (b); or 16 (2) before such date, if— 17 (A) such franchise (including any renewal 18 term thereof) is in effect on such date; or 19 (B) such franchise is expired and the cable 20 operator has continued to perform under the 21 provisions of such franchise as if such franchise 22 were not expired. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3314.IH H3314 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB