South Portland- State Representative Lawrence Bliss is sponsoring LD-2133, An Act To Establish Consistent Consumer Protections for Cable and Video Programming Customers. Co-sponsors listed on the bill include Senator Lynn Bromley of Cumberland, Representative Jane Eberle of South Portland, Representative Stan Gerzofsky of Brunswick, Representative Bryan Kaenrath of South Portland and Representative Peter Rines of Wiscasset.

"I'm delighted to work with the Community Television Association and the Maine Municipal Association to move forward with this legislation that will protect municipalities and individual video broadcast users," said Bliss. "As technology continues to leap forward, it's important to make sure that everyone receives the best protection as well as the best service. This legislation will go a long way in that direction."

The bill has three primary benefits for municipalities and subscribers, first it makes clear that consumer protections with respect to television services delivered to the home over the public rights of way apply to any corporate entity, not just "cable" companies.

Second, it seeks the creation of a model franchise agreement by the PUC in consensus with video service providers. This model franchise would then be available for municipalities to use on a voluntary basis. Third, the bill amends and strengthens various consumer protection statutes related to television service.

A public hearing and a workshop on the bill have been held at the Utilities and Energy Committee and a modified version of the bill received an "Ought to Pass" vote following supporting testimony by the Maine Municipal Association and the Public Advocates office.

A revised draft of the bill will be heard by the Committee on Tuesday, March 4th .

Additional details of the bill's provisions include:
1. It holds new entrants to the same standards as current cable operators.
2. It clarifies credits and refunds for interruption of service.
3. It clarifies the complaint filing procedures for the subscriber.
4. It requires the operator to notify subscribers that they have a right to request only the basic, non-premium tier.
5. It requires the operator to notify the attorney general annually that it has distributed certain consumer information to subscribers.
6. It strengthens the subscriber privacy rights so that the operator cannot sell subscriber lists.
7. It directs the PUC to create by rule, standards to implement the provisions in this section.
8. It requires the cable operator to file copies of all Franchises with the PUC.

The Community Television Association of Maine is an affiliate of Maine Municipal Association and assists municipalities with issues related to local television access channels.

Tony Vigue
CTAM Acting Secretary
P.O. Box 2124
South Portland, ME 04106
(207) 767-7615
www.ctamaine.org