Amendment ASA1-SB272

2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO 2003 SENATE BILL 272

February 16, 2004 - Offered by Representative Montgomery.

SB272-ASA1,1,5 An Act to renumber and amend 196.204 (5) (a); to amend 196.203 (1) and 196.204 (5) (b); and to create 66.0419 (3m), 66.0422, 196.204 (5) (ag) and 196.204 (5) (ar) 2. of the statutes; relating to: municipal telecommunications utilities and public hearings for ordinances and resolutions authorizing municipal cable television, telecommunications, and broadband facilities.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB272-ASA1, s. 1 Section 1. 66.0419 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:

SB272-ASA1,1,11 66.0419 (3m) Municipal cable television system costs. (a) Except for costs for any of the following, a municipality that owns and operates a cable television system, or an entity owned or operated, in whole or in part, by such a municipality, may not require nonsubscribers of the cable television system to pay any of the costs of the cable television system:

SB272-ASA1,1,12 1. Public, educational, and governmental access channels.

SB272-ASA1,2,2 2. Debt service on bonds issued under s. 66.0619 to finance the construction, renovation, or expansion of a cable television system.

SB272-ASA1,2,4 3. The provision of broadband service by the cable television system, if the requirements of s. 66.0422 are satisfied.

SB272-ASA1,2,6 (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a municipality if all of the following conditions apply:

SB272-ASA1,2,8 1. On November 1, 2003, the public service commission has determined that the municipality is an alternative telecommunications utility under s. 196.203.

SB272-ASA1,2,13 2. A majority of the governing board of the municipality votes to submit the question of supporting the operation of a cable television system by the municipality to the electors in an advisory referendum and a majority of the voters in the municipality voting at the advisory referendum vote to support the operation of a cable television system by the municipality.

SB272-ASA1, s. 2 Section 2. 66.0422 of the statutes is created to read:

SB272-ASA1,2,16 66.0422 Cable television, telecommunications, and broadband facilities. (1) In this section:

SB272-ASA1,2,17 (a) "Cable service" has the meaning given in s. 66.0419 (2) (c).

SB272-ASA1,2,18 (b) "Municipality" means a city, village, or town.

SB272-ASA1,2,19 (c) "Telecommunications service" has the meaning given in s. 196.01 (9m).

SB272-ASA1,2,24 (2) (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c), no municipality may, after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution authorizing the municipality to construct, own, or operate any facility for providing cable service, telecommunications service, or broadband service, directly or indirectly, to the public, unless all of the following are satisfied:

SB272-ASA1,3,2 1. The municipality holds a public hearing on the proposed ordinance or resolution.

SB272-ASA1,3,4 2. Notice of the public hearing is given by publication of a class 3 notice under ch. 985 in the area affected by the proposed ordinance or resolution.

SB272-ASA1,3,12 3. No less than 30 days before the public hearing, the municipality prepares and makes available for public inspection a report estimating the total costs of, and revenues derived from, constructing, owning, or operating the facility and including a cost-benefit analysis of the facility for a period of at least 3 years. The costs that are subject to this subdivision include personnel costs and costs of acquiring, installing, maintaining, repairing, or operating any plant or equipment, and include an appropriate allocated portion of costs of personnel, plant, or equipment that are used to provide jointly both telecommunications services and other services.

SB272-ASA1,3,14 (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a municipality if all of the following conditions apply:

SB272-ASA1,3,16 1. On November 1, 2003, the public service commission has determined that the municipality is an alternative telecommunications utility under s. 196.203.

SB272-ASA1,3,22 2. A majority of the governing board of the municipality votes to submit the question of supporting the operation of the facility for providing cable service, telecommunications service, or Internet access service, directly or indirectly to the public, by the municipality to the electors in an advisory referendum and a majority of the voters in the municipality voting at the advisory referendum vote to support operation of such a facility by the municipality.

SB272-ASA1,3,24 (c) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a facility for providing broadband service to an area within the boundaries of a municipality if any of the following are satisfied:

SB272-ASA1,4,7 1. The municipality asks, in writing, each person that provides broadband service within the boundaries of the municipality whether the person currently provides broadband service to the area or intends to provide broadband service within 9 months to the area and within 60 days after receiving the written request no person responds in writing to the municipality that the person currently provides broadband service to the area or intends to provide broadband service to the area within 9 months.

SB272-ASA1,4,11 2. The municipality determines that a person who responded to a written request under subd. 1. that the person currently provides broadband service to the area did not actually provide broadband service to the area and no other person makes the response to the municipality described in subd. 1.

SB272-ASA1,4,16 3. The municipality determines that a person who responded to a written request under subd. 1. that the person intended to provide broadband service to the area within 9 months did not actually provide broadband service to the area within 9 months and no other person makes the response to the municipality described in subd. 1.

SB272-ASA1,4,18 (d) Notwithstanding par. (a), a municipality may enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution authorizing the municipality to prepare a report specified in par. (a) 3.

SB272-ASA1,4,24 (e) If a municipality enacts an ordinance or adopts a resolution that complies with the requirements of par. (a), the municipality must determine the cost incurred in preparing the report specified in par. (a) 3. As soon as practicable after the municipality generates revenue from a facility specified in par. (a) (intro.), the municipality shall use the revenues to reimburse the treasury of the municipality for the cost determined under this paragraph.

SB272-ASA1,5,5 (3) (a) This subsection applies to a municipality that, before the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], enacted an ordinance or passed a resolution authorizing the municipality to construct, own, or operate a facility for providing cable service, telecommunications service, or broadband service, directly or indirectly, to the public.

SB272-ASA1,5,12 (b) A municipality may not, after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], incur debt for constructing, operating, upgrading, or improving a facility described in par. (a), or finance such construction, operation, upgrade, or improvement with revenues derived from the operation of any other facility, unless the municipality enacts an ordinance or passes a resolution authorizing the incurring of such debt or such financing and the municipality does all of the following:

SB272-ASA1,5,14 1. The municipality holds a public hearing on the proposed ordinance or resolution.

SB272-ASA1,5,16 2. Notice of the public hearing is given by publication of a class 3 notice under ch. 985 in the area affected by the proposed ordinance or resolution.

SB272-ASA1,6,2 3. No less than 30 days before the public hearing, the municipality prepares and makes available for public inspection a report estimating the total costs of, and revenues derived from, constructing, operating, upgrading, or improving the facility and including a cost-benefit analysis of such construction, operation, upgrade, or improvement for a period of at least 3 years. The costs that are subject to this subdivision include personnel costs and costs of acquiring, installing, maintaining, repairing, or operating any plant or equipment that are required for the construction, operation, upgrade, or improvement, and include an appropriate allocated portion of costs of personnel, plant, or equipment that are used to provide jointly both telecommunications services and other services.

SB272-ASA1, s. 3 Section 3. 196.203 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB272-ASA1,6,8 196.203 (1) Except as provided in this section, alternative Alternative telecommunications utilities are exempt from all provisions of ch. 201 and this chapter, except as provided in this section and except that an alternative telecommunications utility that is a municipal telecommunications utility, as defined in s. 196.204 (5) (ag) 1., is subject to s. 196.204 (5).

SB272-ASA1, s. 4 Section 4. 196.204 (5) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 196.204 (5) (ar) 1. and amended to read:

SB272-ASA1,6,17 196.204 (5) (ar) 1. In addition to the other requirements of this section, each telecommunications service, relevant group of services and basic network function offered or used by a telecommunications utility shall be priced to exceed its total service long-run incremental cost. The commission may waive the applicability of this paragraph subdivision to a nonmunicipal telecommunications utility's basic local exchange service if the commission determines that a waiver is consistent with the factors under s. 196.03 (6).

SB272-ASA1, s. 5 Section 5. 196.204 (5) (ag) of the statutes is created to read:

SB272-ASA1,6,19 196.204 (5) (ag) In this subsection:

SB272-ASA1,6,24 1. "Municipal telecommunications utility" means a municipality that owns, operates, manages, or controls any plant or equipment, or that wholly owns, operates, manages, or controls any entity that owns, operates, manages, or controls any plant or equipment, used to furnish telecommunications services within the state directly or indirectly to the public.

SB272-ASA1,7,2 2. "Nonmunicipal telecommunications utility" means a telecommunications utility that is not a municipal telecommunications utility.

SB272-ASA1, s. 6 Section 6. 196.204 (5) (ar) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

SB272-ASA1,7,10 196.204 (5) (ar) 2. For purposes of subd. 1., the total service long-run incremental cost of a municipal telecommunications utility shall take into account, by imputation or allocation, equivalent charges for all taxes, pole rentals, rights-of-way, licenses, and similar costs that are incurred by nonmunicipal telecommunications utilities. This subdivision does not apply to a telecommunications service, relevant group of services, or basic network function if all of the following conditions apply:

SB272-ASA1,7,13 a. On November 1, 2003, the commission has determined that the municipal telecommunications utility is an alternative telecommunications utility under s. 196.203.

SB272-ASA1,7,18 b. A majority of the governing board of the municipal telecommunications utility votes to submit the question of supporting the operation of the municipal telecommunications utility to the electors in an advisory referendum and a majority of the voters in the municipal telecommunications utility voting at the advisory referendum vote to support operation of the municipal telecommunications utility.

SB272-ASA1, s. 7 Section 7. 196.204 (5) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB272-ASA1,8,3 196.204 (5) (b) Unless ordered by the commission, par. (a) (ar) does not apply to basic local exchange service or to business access line and usage service within a local calling area offered by a nonmunicipal telecommunications utility with 150,000 or less access lines in use in this state. If par. (a) (ar) does not apply, the nonmunicipal telecommunications utility may not reduce its rates for basic local exchange service below the monthly rate under s. 196.215 (7) or total service long-run incremental cost, whichever is lower, and may not reduce its rates for business access line and usage service within a local calling area below total service long-run incremental cost.

SB272-ASA1, s. 8 Section 8. Initial applicability.

SB272-ASA1,8,6 (1) The treatment of section 66.0419 (3m) of the statutes first applies to costs incurred on the effective date of this subsection.

SB272-ASA1, s. 9 Section 9. Effective date.

SB272-ASA1,8,9 (1) This act takes effect on the first day of the 3rd month beginning after publication.

SB272-ASA1,8,10 (End)