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1 <br />J <br />MASON PUBLISHING COMPANY <br />rEA member of the Butterworth Publishing Group <br />CABLE <br />COMMUNICATIONS <br />NEWSLETTER <br />Volume 1, Number 1 <br />ISSN 0734 -0958 September 1982 <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Welcome to the Cable Communications News- <br />letter. This monthly newsletter is designed to act as a <br />source of information for matters ofa regional interest. <br />The newsletter will focus on pending legislation, <br />agency actions, judicial decisions. and other signifi- <br />cant developments throughout Iowa. Illinois, Minne- <br />sota, Nebraska. North Dakota. Sol uh Dakota. Wiscon- <br />sin. and at the federal level. Each newsletter will also <br />provide practical articles or how -to articles relating to <br />such issues as privacy. franchise fees. interconnection. <br />franchise enforcement, etc. Our next issue, for example, <br />will suggest an orderly way to deal with franchise <br />renewals. <br />We welcome any questions or comments that you <br />may have. We will be running a question and answer <br />column in each newsletter. Please feel free to provide <br />us with any questions that you would like to see <br />addressed. Questions or comments may be sent to me <br />at: <br />Adrian E. Herbst <br />Attorney at Law <br />Herbst & Thue. Ltd. <br />2030 Northwestern Financial Center <br />7900 Xerxes Avenue South <br />Bloomington, Minnesota 55431 <br />SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES <br />CABLE BILL <br />On July 22. 1982, the Senate Commerce Com mi ttee <br />approved the cable telecommunications act of 1982 S. <br />2172. 97th Cong., 2d Sess. (1982). The action came on <br />a 12 to 3 vote and has increased the concern of <br />municipal officials. This bill, according to the National <br />League of Cities. "preempts state and local authority <br />in most areas of essential concern and prohibits <br />almost all meaningful regulation of cable systems." <br />If enacted, this would, among other things: <br />1. require that each cable system having twenty or <br />more channels set aside ten percent of the available <br />channels for use by public, educational, and gov- <br />ernmental channel programmers. Available chan- <br />nels are defined as the activated channels, less <br />those channels subject to other requirements (i.e., <br />must -carry rules). <br />2. exempt those systems with less than twentychan- <br />nels from the access requirements. Existing fran- <br />chises with more stringent access requirements <br />would be grandfathered until the franchise expires <br />or is renegotiated. Any system may petition the <br />Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to <br />waive the access requirements if there are "reason- <br />able alternatives for persons desiring to provide <br />programming service to the public ...." <br />3. authorize municipalities to regulate rates charged <br />by cable operators for basic service. Basic service <br />is defined as the retransmission of broadcast <br />signals and public, educational, and governmental <br />access programming. <br />IN THIS ISSUE <br />• INTRODUCTION <br />• SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES CABLE <br />BILL <br />• REGIONAL BRIEFS <br />• FRANCHISING TIPS <br />• NATIONAL BRIEFS <br />