Cable Transparency Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3353 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to amend provisions relating to franchise term and termination and provisions relating to the elimi- nation or modification of requirements in franchises, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2023 Mr. WEBER of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to amend provi- sions relating to franchise term and termination and provisions relating to the elimination or modification of requirements in franchises, 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 ‘‘Cable Transparency 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CABLE FRANCHISE TERM AND TERMINATION. 6 (a) ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF REQUIRE- 7 MENT IN FRANCHISE.—Section 625 of the Communica- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3353 IH tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 545) is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 ‘‘SEC. 625. ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF REQUIRE- 3 MENT IN FRANCHISE. 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During the period in which a 5 franchise is in effect, the cable operator may obtain the 6 elimination or modification of any requirement in the fran- 7 chise by submitting to the franchising authority a request 8 for the elimination or modification of such requirement. 9 ‘‘(b) ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF REQUIRE- 10 MENT IN FRANCHISE.— 11 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The franchising author- 12 ity shall eliminate or modify a requirement in ac- 13 cordance with a complete request submitted under 14 subsection (a) not later than 120 days after receiv- 15 ing such request if the cable operator demonstrates 16 in the request— 17 ‘‘(A) good cause for the elimination or 18 modification of the requirement, including the 19 need to eliminate or modify the requirement— 20 ‘‘(i) to conform to an applicable Fed- 21 eral or State law; 22 ‘‘(ii) to address changes in technology; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3353 IH ‘‘(iii) in the case of a requirement ap- 1 plicable to the cable operator, due to com- 2 mercial impracticability; and 3 ‘‘(B) that the mix, quality, and level of 4 cable services required by the franchise at the 5 time the franchise was granted will be main- 6 tained notwithstanding the elimination or modi- 7 fication of the requirement; 8 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 9 ‘commercial impracticability’ means that it is com- 10 mercially impracticable for the operator to comply 11 with the requirement as a result of a change in con- 12 ditions which is beyond the control of the operator 13 and the nonoccurrence of which was a basic assump- 14 tion on which the requirement was based. 15 ‘‘(c) DEEMED ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION.— 16 Except in the case of a request for the elimination or 17 modification of a requirement for services relating to pub- 18 lic, educational, or governmental access, if the franchising 19 authority fails to approve or deny the complete request 20 submitted under subsection (a) by the date described 21 under subsection (b), the requirement shall be deemed 22 eliminated or modified in accordance with the request on 23 the day after such date. 24 ‘‘(d) APPEAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3353 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any cable operator whose 1 request for elimination or modification of a require- 2 ment in a franchise under subsection (a) has been 3 denied by a final decision of a franchising authority 4 may seek judicial review of the decision pursuant to 5 the provisions of section 635. 6 ‘‘(2) GRANT OF REQUEST.—In the case of any 7 proposed elimination or modification of a require- 8 ment in a franchise under subsection (a), the court 9 shall grant such elimination or modification only if 10 the cable operator demonstrates to the court that 11 the standards in subsection (b) have been met. 12 ‘‘(e) WHEN REQUEST CONSIDERED COMPLETE.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this 14 section, a request to a franchising authority shall be 15 considered complete if the cable operator— 16 ‘‘(A) has taken the first procedural step 17 within the control of the cable operator that the 18 franchising authority requires as part of the 19 process established by the franchising authority 20 for reviewing any requests related to franchises; 21 and 22 ‘‘(B) has not received a written notice from 23 the franchising authority within 30 days after 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3353 IH the date on which the request is received by the 1 franchising authority— 2 ‘‘(i) stating that all the information 3 (including any form or other document) re- 4 quired by the franchising authority to be 5 submitted for the request to be considered 6 complete has not been submitted; 7 ‘‘(ii) identifying the information re- 8 quired to be submitted that was not sub- 9 mitted; and 10 ‘‘(iii) identifying the publicly available 11 rules, regulations, or standards issued by 12 the franchising authority requiring that 13 the information be submitted with such a 14 request. 15 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 16 ‘the date on which the request is received by the 17 franchising authority’ means— 18 ‘‘(A) in the case of a request submitted 19 electronically, the date on which the request is 20 transmitted; 21 ‘‘(B) in the case of a request submitted in 22 person, the date on which the request is deliv- 23 ered to the individual or at the location speci- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3353 IH fied by the franchising authority for in-person 1 submission; and 2 ‘‘(C) in the case of a request submitted in 3 any other manner, the date determined under 4 regulations promulgated by the Commission for 5 the manner in which the request is submitted.’’. 6 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 626 of the Communica- 7 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 546) is amended to read 8 as follows: 9 ‘‘SEC. 626. FRANCHISE TERM AND TERMINATION. 10 ‘‘(a) FRANCHISE TERM.—A franchise shall continue 11 in effect (without any requirement for renewal) until the 12 date on which the franchise is revoked or terminated in 13 accordance with subsection (b). 14 ‘‘(b) LIMITS.— 15 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION AGAINST REVOCATION; TER- 16 MINATION.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 17 franchise may not be— 18 ‘‘(A) revoked by a franchising authority; 19 ‘‘(B) terminated by a cable operator; or 20 ‘‘(C) revoked or terminated by operation of 21 law, including by a term in a franchise that re- 22 vokes or terminates such franchise on a specific 23 date, after a period of time, or upon the occur- 24 rence of an event. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3353 IH ‘‘(2) WHEN TERMINATION OR REVOCATION OF 1 FRANCHISE PERMITTED.— 2 ‘‘(A) TERMINATION BY CABLE OPER- 3 ATOR.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A cable operator 5 may terminate a franchise by submitting 6 to the franchising authority a written re- 7 quest for the franchising authority to re- 8 voke such franchise. 9 ‘‘(ii) TIME OF REVOCATION.—If the 10 cable operator submits a complete request 11 under clause (i), the franchising authority 12 shall revoke the franchise on the date that 13 is 90 days after the franchising authority 14 receives such request. 15 ‘‘(iii) DEEMED TO BE REVOKED.—If a 16 franchising authority does not approve a 17 request by the date required under clause 18 (ii), the franchise is deemed revoked on the 19 day after such date. 20 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION BY FRANCHISING AU- 21 THORITY.—A franchising authority may revoke 22 a franchise if the franchising authority— 23 ‘‘(i) finds that the cable operator has 24 knowingly and willfully failed to substan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3353 IH tially meet a material requirement imposed 1 by the franchise; 2 ‘‘(ii) provides the cable operator a rea- 3 sonable opportunity to cure such failure, 4 after which the cable operator fails to cure 5 such failure; and 6 ‘‘(iii) does not waive the material re- 7 quirement or acquiesce with the failure to 8 substantially meet such requirement. 9 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF REVOCATION OF FRANCHISE BY 10 FRANCHISING AUTHORITY.— 11 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE OR JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 12 With respect to a determination by a franchising au- 13 thority to revoke a franchise under subsection 14 (b)(2)(B), a cable operator may— 15 ‘‘(A) petition the Commission for review of 16 such determination; or 17 ‘‘(B) seek judicial review of such deter- 18 mination pursuant to the provisions of 635. 19 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION REVIEW.—With respect to a 20 petition for the review of a determination brought 21 under paragraph (1)(A), the Commission shall— 22 ‘‘(A) review the determination de novo; and 23 ‘‘(B) invalidate the determination if, based 24 on the evidence presented during the review, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3353 IH Commission determines that the franchising au- 1 thority has not demonstrated by a preponder- 2 ance of the evidence that the franchising au- 3 thority revoked the franchise in accordance with 4 subsection (b)(2)(B). 5 ‘‘(3) STAY OF DETERMINATION TO REVOKE 6 FRANCHISE.—A revocation of a franchise under sub- 7 section (b)(2)(B) may be stayed— 8 ‘‘(A) in the case the cable operator peti- 9 tions the Commission for review of the deter- 10 mination on which such revocation is based, by 11 the Commission; and 12 ‘‘(B) in the case the cable operator seeks 13 judicial review of the determination on which 14 such revocation is based, by the court in which 15 the cable operator seeks judicial review of the 16 determination.’’. 17 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 18 The Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) 19 is amended— 20 (1) in section 601— 21 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking the semi- 22 colon at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 23 (B) by striking paragraph (5); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3353 IH (C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 1 paragraph (5); 2 (2) in section 602(9)— 3 (A) by striking ‘‘initial’’; and 4 (B) by striking ‘‘, or renewal thereof (in- 5 cluding a renewal of an authorization which has 6 been granted subject to section 626),’’; 7 (3) in section 611(b), by striking ‘‘and may re- 8 quire as part of a cable operator’s proposal for a 9 franchise renewal, subject to section 626’’; 10 (4) in section 612(b)(3)— 11 (A) by striking ‘‘or as part of a proposal 12 for renewal, subject to section 626,’’; and 13 (B) by striking ‘‘, or proposal for renewal 14 thereof,’’; 15 (5) in section 621(b)(3)— 16 (A) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 17 ‘‘or franchise renewal’’; and 18 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 19 (i) by striking ‘‘initial’’; and 20 (ii) by striking ‘‘, a franchise re- 21 newal,’’; 22 (6) in section 624— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3353 IH (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘(in- 1 cluding requests for renewal proposals, subject 2 to section 626)’’; and 3 (B) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘or 4 renewal thereof’’; 5 (7) in section 635A(a), by striking ‘‘renewal,’’. 6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 7 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the 8 amendments made by this section, shall take effect 9 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 10 Act. 11 (2) APPLICATION.—This section, and the 12 amendments made by this section, shall apply to a 13 franchise granted— 14 (A) on or after the effective date estab- 15 lished by paragraph (1); or 16 (B) before such date, if— 17 (i) such franchise (including, any re- 18 newal thereof before the date of the enact- 19 ment of this Act) is in effect on such date; 20 or 21 (ii) such franchise is expired and the 22 cable operator has continued to perform 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3353 IH under the provisions of such franchise as if 1 such franchise were not expired. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3353.IH H3353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS