ORDINANCE NO. BL2013-396

An ordinance amending Title 6, Chapter 6.08 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws relative to Cable Franchise Agreements.

WHEREAS, the state and federal laws have drastically changed over the last several years, impacting the relevance and enforceability of the Metropolitan Code; and,

WHEREAS, the technology that a Cable Franchisee provides has drastically changed; and

WHEREAS, a Cable Television Franchise Agreement Between The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee and Comcast of Nashville I, LLC (the Franchise Agreement), has been recommended by the CATV Special Committee for approval and is being presented to Council for approval by separate legislation being filed contemporaneously with this Ordinance; and,

WHEREAS, in Substitute Ordinance No. BL2012-122, the Council had authorized the CATV Special Committee to consider whether any changes or modernizations of Metropolitan Code, Sections 6.08.005 through 6.08.160, are needed to bring such code into conformance with the terms, conditions and intent of the Franchise Agreement or to remove any unnecessary administrative burdens, reports, and other obsolete requirements and redundancies, and, if so, to recommend the same to the Metropolitan Council at the time that the Franchise Agreement is presented to the Council for approval; and,

WHEREAS, pursuant to the aforementioned authorization, at its meeting on February 26, 2013, the CATV Special Committee reviewed the changes to Chapter 6.08 of the Metropolitan Code that are affected by this Ordinance, and resolved to recommend them to the Metropolitan Council for approval; and,

WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the Metropolitan Government that the language in the negotiated Franchise Agreement should control and should not conflict with the language in the Metropolitan Code.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting the definitions of “cable service,” “cable system,” “gross revenue,” “school” and “service tier” and “public rights of way” from Section 6.08.020 of the Code.

Section 2. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Section 6.08.030 (B) of the Code in its entirety and replacing that subsection with the following language:

Section 6.08.030 (B). Franchise/Certificate of Franchise Authority Required. No person may construct or operate a cable system without a certificate of franchise authority granted by the State pursuant to T.C.A. § 7-59-301 et seq or a franchise agreement granted by the Metropolitan Government.

Section 3. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Sections 6.08.030 (E), (H)(1.), (K) and (M) of the Code in their entirety.

Section 4. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Section 6.08.030 (I) and replacing it with the following language:

Section 6.08.030 (I). Operation of a Cable System without a Franchise/Certificate of Franchise Authority. Any person who occupies the public rights-of-way for the purpose of operating or constructing a cable system and who does not hold a valid franchise from the Metropolitan Government or a certificate of franchise authority from the State shall be subject to all provisions of this chapter. In its discretion the Metropolitan Government at any time may require such person to enter into a franchise agreement within thirty days of receipt of a written notice by the Metropolitan Government that a franchise agreement is required; require such person to remove its property and restore the area to a condition satisfactory to the Metropolitan Government within such time period; remove the property itself and restore the area to a satisfactory condition and charge the person the costs therefor; and/or take any other action it is entitled to take under applicable law, including filing for and seeking damages under trespass. In no event shall a franchise be created unless it is issued by action of the Metropolitan Government or the State and subject to a written franchise Agreement or certificate of franchise authority.

Section 5. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Section 6.08.050 in its entirety.

Section 6. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Section 6.08.060 subsections (B),(C),(E),(F)(2),(G),(H) and (J) in their entirety.

Section 7. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Section 6.08.070 subsection (A),(B), (C)(2) -(C)(4) and (D)(2) in their entirety.

Section 8. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Section 6.08.090 in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

Section 6.08.090 Consumer Protection and Customer Service. Any cable franchisee that obtains a cable franchise from the Metropolitan Government must agree to affirmatively comply with the State’s consumer protection laws and the FCC’s rules and regulations concerning consumer protection and customer service located in the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 (the "Cable Act").

Section 9. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code is amended by deleting Sections 6.08.100, 6.08.110, 6.08.130(E) and 6.08.140.

Section 10. That Title 6 of the Metropolitan Code should be renumbered to properly reflect these revisions.

Section 11. This Ordinance shall take effect from and after its passage, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Brady Banks, Lonnell Matthews, Phil Claiborne

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Introduced:	March 19, 2013
Passed First Reading:	March 19, 2013
Referred to:	Personnel - Public Information Committee
Passed Second Reading:	April 2, 2013
Passed Third Reading:	April 16, 2013
Approved:	April 17, 2013
By: