Attached is a draft resolution of support as part of a nationwide effort to pass the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act of 2009 (H.R. 3745). This bill addresses specific challenges faced by public, educational, and governmental (PEG) TV channels and community access television stations as the digital television era unfolds.
PEG stations and channels are locally funded, produced, and viewed. Current federal law and a number of state laws are silent as to the basic requirements for PEG broadcasts and do not require dedicated funding beyond an "adequate assurance of financial support." This bill will clarify that support, for example, if the municipality requires funding from the cable operator specifically for "PEG Support", those funds can only be used for PEG Support and would not be counted as part of the Franchise Fee that the municipality already receives.
This legislation will address the immediate issues faced by PEG channels by: *Allowing PEG fees to be used for any PEG-related purposes; *Requiring PEG channels to be carried in the same manner as local broadcast channels; *Requiring the FCC to study the effect state video franchise laws have had on PEG channels, and requiring operators to provide the greater of the support required under state laws or the support historically provided for PEG; and *Making cable television-related laws and regulations applicable to all landline video providers.
Here are a couple of links to further explain the legislation.
|
