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Section 5 Applicable Federal, State and Local Legal Requirements The applicable legal requirements for examining an initial franchise application are contained in the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended (the "Federal Cable Act"), Chapter 238 of Minnesota Statues (the "Minnesota Cable Act"), and the City's Policies and Procedures Governing Application, Review and Recommendations Regarding Grant of Competitive Cable Franchises (the "Competitive Franchising Policies and Procedures"). The specific procedures to be followed in soliciting and reviewing cable franchise applications are contained in the Minnesota Statutes4 and the Competitive Franchising Policies and Procedures. Substantive criteria the City may use in evaluating applications are set forth in the Competitive Franchising Policies and Procedures and the Federal Cable Act. Section 6 State Cable Franchise Application Requirements A. The State Cable Franchise Application Process The Minnesota Cable Act, found in Minnesota Statutes Chapter 238, lays out the process for granting an additional cable franchise. The following is a summary of the franchising process found in Section 238.081: ➢ Publication of Notice. A notice of intent to franchise must be published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. The statute identifies the information required in the notice, such as (1) the name of the municipality making the request; (2) the closing date for submission of applications; (3) a statement of the application fee, if any, and the method for its submission; (4) a statement by the franchising authority of the services to be offered; (5) a statement by the franchising authority of criteria and priorities against which the applicants for the franchise must be evaluated; (6) a statement that applications for the franchise must contain at least the information required by state law; (7) the date, time, and place for the public hearing, to hear proposals from franchise applicants; and (8) the name, address, and telephone number of the individuals who may be contacted for further information. ➢ Written Notice. In addition to publishing the notice of intent to franchise in one or more newspapers, a franchising authority must mail copies of the notice of intent to franchise to any person it has identified as being a potential candidate for a franchise. ➢ Deadline for Application Submission. A franchising authority must allow at least 20 days from the first date of published notice for the submission of franchise proposals. In other words, the deadline for submitting franchise proposals cannot be earlier than 20 days after the date that a jurisdiction's notice of intent to franchise was first published in a newspaper of general circulation. 4 See Minn. Stat. § 238.081, Subd. 1-7. 3