AB207-engrossed,3,1414 1. Public, educational, and governmental access PEG channels.
AB207-engrossed,3,1615 2. Debt service on bonds issued under s. 66.0619 to finance the construction,
16renovation, or expansion of a cable television system.
AB207-engrossed,3,1817 3. The provision of broadband service by the cable television system, if the
18requirements of s. 66.0422 (3d) (a), (b), or (c) are satisfied.
AB207-engrossed,3,2319 (b) 2. A majority of the governing board of the municipality votes to submit the
20question of supporting the operation of a cable television system by the municipality
21to the electors in an advisory referendum and a majority of the voters in the
22municipality voting at the advisory referendum vote to support the operation of a
23cable television system by the municipality.
AB207-engrossed, s. 7 24Section 7. 66.0419 (4) and (5) of the statutes are repealed.
AB207-engrossed, s. 8 25Section 8. 66.0420 of the statutes is created to read:
AB207-engrossed,4,2
166.0420 Video service. (1) Legislative findings. The legislature finds all
2of the following:
AB207-engrossed,4,43 (a) Video service brings important daily benefits to state residents by providing
4news, education, and entertainment.
AB207-engrossed,4,75 (b) Uniform regulation of all video service providers by this state is necessary
6to ensure that state residents receive adequate and efficient video service and to
7protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
AB207-engrossed,4,108 (c) Fair competition in the provision of video service will result in new and more
9video programming choices for consumers in this state, and a number of providers
10have stated their desire to provide that service.
AB207-engrossed,4,1211 (d) Timely entry into the market is critical for new entrants seeking to compete
12with existing providers.
AB207-engrossed,4,1513 (e) This state's economy would be enhanced by additional investment in
14communications and video programming infrastructure by existing and new
15providers of video service.
AB207-engrossed,4,1716 (f) Minimal regulation of all providers of video service within a uniform
17framework will promote the investment described in par. (e).
AB207-engrossed,4,2018 (g) Ensuring that existing providers of video service are subject to the same
19regulatory requirements and procedures as new entrants will ensure fair
20competition among all providers.
AB207-engrossed,4,2521 (h) This section is an enactment of statewide concern for the purpose of
22providing uniform regulation of video service that promotes investment in
23communications and video infrastructures and the continued development of this
24state's video service marketplace within a framework that is fair and equitable to all
25providers.
AB207-engrossed,5,1
1(2) Definitions. In this section:
AB207-engrossed,5,42 (a) "Affiliate", when used in relation to any person, means another person who
3owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control
4with such person.
AB207-engrossed,5,75 (b) "Basic local exchange service area" means the area on file with the public
6service commission in which a telecommunications video service provider provides
7basic local exchange service, as defined in s. 196.01 (1g).
AB207-engrossed,5,98 (c) "Cable franchise" means a franchise granted under s. 66.0419 (3) (b), 2005
9stats.
AB207-engrossed,5,1010 (d) "Cable operator" has the meaning given in 47 USC 522 (5).
AB207-engrossed,5,1111 (e) "Cable service" has the meaning given in 47 USC 522 (6).
AB207-engrossed,5,1212 (f) "Cable system" has the meaning given in 47 USC 522 (7).
AB207-engrossed,5,1413 (g) Except as provided in sub. (8) (ag), "department" means the department of
14financial institutions.
AB207-engrossed,5,1515 (h) "FCC" means the federal communications commission.
AB207-engrossed,5,1716 (i) "Franchise fee" has the meaning given in 47 USC 542 (g), and includes any
17compensation required under s. 66.0425.
AB207-engrossed,5,2018 (j) 1. "Gross receipts" means all revenues received by and paid to a video service
19provider by subscribers residing within a municipality for video service, or received
20from advertisers, including all of the following:
AB207-engrossed,5,2121 a. Recurring charges for video service.
AB207-engrossed,5,2322 b. Event-based charges for video service, including pay-per-view and
23video-on-demand charges.
AB207-engrossed,5,2424 c. Rental of set top boxes and other video service equipment.
AB207-engrossed,6,2
1d. Service charges related to the provision of video service, including activation,
2installation, repair, and maintenance charges.
AB207-engrossed,6,43 e. Administrative charges related to the provision of video service, including
4service order and service termination charges.
AB207-engrossed,6,65 f. Revenues received from the provision of home shopping or similar
6programming.
AB207-engrossed,6,167 g. All revenue, except for refunds, rebates, and discounts, derived by the video
8service provider for advertising over its video service network to subscribers within
9a municipality. If such revenue is derived under a regional or national compensation
10contract or arrangement between the video service provider and one or more
11advertisers or advertising representatives, the amount of revenue derived for a
12municipality shall be determined by multiplying the total revenue derived under the
13contract or arrangement by the percentage resulting from dividing the number of
14subscribers in the municipality by the total number of regional or national
15subscribers that potentially receive the advertising under the contract or
16arrangement.
AB207-engrossed,6,1817 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., "gross receipts" does not include any of the
18following:
AB207-engrossed,6,2019 a. Discounts, refunds, and other price adjustments that reduce the amount of
20compensation received by a video service provider.
AB207-engrossed,6,2321 b. Uncollectible fees, except that any uncollectible fees that are written off as
22bad debt but subsequently collected shall be included as gross receipts in the period
23collected, less the expenses of collection.
AB207-engrossed,6,2424 c. Late payment charges.
AB207-engrossed,7,5
1e. Amounts billed to video service subscribers to recover taxes, fees, surcharges
2or assessments of general applicability or otherwise collected by a video service
3provider from video service subscribers for pass through to any federal, state, or local
4government agency, including video service provider fees and regulatory fees paid to
5the FCC under 47 USC 159.
AB207-engrossed,7,86 f. Revenue from the sale of capital assets or surplus equipment not used by the
7purchaser to receive video service from the seller of those assets or surplus
8equipment.
AB207-engrossed,7,159 g. Charges, other than those described in subd. 1., that are aggregated or
10bundled with amounts described in subd. 1., including but not limited to any
11revenues received by a video service provider or its affiliates for telecommunications
12services, information services, or the provision of directory or Internet advertising,
13including yellow pages, white pages, banner advertisement, and electronic
14publishing, if a video service provider can reasonably identify such charges on books
15and records kept in the regular course of business or by other reasonable means.
AB207-engrossed,7,1716 h. Reimbursement by programmers of marketing costs actually incurred by a
17video service provider.
AB207-engrossed,7,2218 (k) "Household" means a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or
19single room that is intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. For purposes
20of this paragraph, "separate living quarters" are those in which the occupants live
21and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct
22access from the outside of the building or through a common hall.
AB207-engrossed,8,223 (L) "Incumbent cable operator" means a person who, immediately before the
24effective date of this paragraph, was providing cable service under a cable franchise,

1expired cable franchise, or cable franchise extension, or under an ordinance or
2resolution adopted or enacted by a municipality.
AB207-engrossed,8,43 (m) "Institutional network" means a network that connects governmental,
4educational, and community institutions.
AB207-engrossed,8,75 (n) "Interim cable operator" means an incumbent cable operator that elects to
6continue to provide cable service under a cable franchise as specified in sub. (3) (b)
72. a.
AB207-engrossed,8,98 (o) "Issued" means, with respect to a video service franchise, issued or
9considered to be issued by the department under sub. (3) (f) 2.
AB207-engrossed,8,1310 (p) "Large telecommunications video service provider" means a
11telecommunications video service provider that, on January 1, 2007, had more than
12500,000 basic local exchange access lines in this state or an affiliate of such a
13telecommunication video service provider.
AB207-engrossed,8,1714 (q) "Low-income household" means any individual or group of individuals
15living together as one economic unit in a household whose aggregate annual income
16is not more than $35,000, as identified by the United States Census Bureau as of
17January 1, 2007.
AB207-engrossed,8,1818 (r) "Municipality" means a city, village, or town.
AB207-engrossed,8,2019 (s) "PEG channel" means a channel designated for noncommercial public,
20educational, or governmental use.
AB207-engrossed,8,2121 (sm) "Qualified cable operator" means any of the following:
AB207-engrossed,8,2422 1. A cable operator that has been providing cable service in this state for at least
233 years prior to applying for a video service franchise and that has never had a cable
24franchise revoked by a municipality.
AB207-engrossed,8,2525 2. An affiliate of a cable operator specified in subd. 1.
AB207-engrossed,9,5
13. A cable operator that, on the date that it applies for a video service franchise,
2individually or together with its affiliates or parent company, is one of the 10 largest
3cable operators in the United States as determined by data collected and reported
4by the FCC or determined by information available to the public through a national
5trade association representing cable operators.
AB207-engrossed,9,76 (t) "Service tier" means a category of video service for which a separate rate is
7charged.
AB207-engrossed,9,98 (u) "State agency" means any board, commission, department, or office in the
9state government.
AB207-engrossed,9,1010 (um) "Telecommunications utility" has the meaning given in s. 196.01 (10).
AB207-engrossed,9,1311 (v) "Telecommunications video service provider" means a video service provider
12that uses facilities for providing telecommunications service, as defined in s. 196.01
13(9m), also to provide video service.
AB207-engrossed,9,1514 (w) "Video franchise area" means the area or areas described in an application
15for a video service franchise under sub. (3) (d) 2.
AB207-engrossed,9,1716 (x) "Video programming" means programming provided by, or generally
17considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station.
AB207-engrossed,9,2218 (y) "Video service" means any video programming service, cable service, or
19service provided via an open video system that complies with 47 USC 573, that is
20provided through facilities located at least in part in public rights-of-way, without
21regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology or any other
22technology. "Video service" does not include any of the following:
AB207-engrossed,9,2423 1. Video programming provided by a commercial mobile radio service provider,
24as defined in s. 196.01 (2g).
AB207-engrossed,10,3
12. Video programming provided solely as part of and via a service that enables
2users to access content, information, electronic mail, or any other service offered over
3the public Internet.
AB207-engrossed,10,44 (z) "Video service franchise" means a franchise issued under sub. (3) (f) 2.
AB207-engrossed,10,85 (zb) "Video service network" means wireline facilities, or any component
6thereof, located at least in part in the public right-of-way that deliver video service,
7without regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology or any
8other technology. "Video service network" includes a cable system.
AB207-engrossed,10,119 (zg) "Video service provider" means a person, including an incumbent cable
10operator, who is issued a video service franchise or a successor or assign of such a
11person.
AB207-engrossed,10,1312 (zm) "Video service provider fee" means the fee paid by a video service provider
13under sub. (7).
AB207-engrossed,10,17 14(3) Authority to provide video service. (a) In general. Except for an interim
15cable operator, and except as provided in par. (c) and sub. (11), no person may provide
16video service in this state unless the department has issued a video service franchise
17to the person and the person has provided the notice required under par. (h).
AB207-engrossed,10,2018 (b) Incumbent cable operators. 1. A municipality may not renew or extend the
19cable franchise of an incumbent cable operator that expires after the effective date
20of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date].
AB207-engrossed,10,2121 2. An incumbent cable operator may do one of the following:
AB207-engrossed,10,2322 a. Continue to provide cable service as an interim cable operator until the cable
23franchise expires.
AB207-engrossed,11,524 b. Apply for a video service franchise. If an incumbent cable operator applies
25for a video service franchise, the cable franchise shall terminate and have no effect

1upon issuance of the video service franchise. Upon termination of the cable
2franchise, the municipality that granted the franchise shall, at the request of the
3incumbent cable operator, surrender, return, or take such other action as may be
4necessary to nullify any bond, letter of credit, or similar instrument intended to
5secure the performance of the incumbent cable operator under the cable franchise.
AB207-engrossed,11,166 3. An incumbent cable operator whose cable franchise expires after the
7effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], may not, after expiration
8of the cable franchise, provide video service in this state unless the incumbent cable
9operator applies for a video service franchise under subd. 2. b. and, upon issuance
10of the video service franchise, provides the notice required under par. (h). An
11incumbent cable operator whose cable franchise expired before the effective date of
12this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], and who was providing cable service
13immediately before the effective date of this act, may continue to provide cable
14service if, no later than the first day of the 2nd month beginning after the effective
15date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], the incumbent cable operator
16applies for a video service franchise under subd. 2. b.
AB207-engrossed,11,2317 (c) Other providers. A person, other than an incumbent cable operator, who was
18providing video service immediately before the effective date of this paragraph ....
19[revisor inserts date], may provide video service without a video service franchise
20issued by the department. This paragraph ceases to apply to such a person if the
21person does not apply for a video service franchise no later than the first day of the
222nd month beginning after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts
23date].
AB207-engrossed,11,2524 (d) Application. An applicant for a video service franchise shall submit an
25application to the department that consists of all of the following:
AB207-engrossed,12,3
11. The location and telephone number of the applicant's principal place of
2business, the names of the principal executive officers of the applicant, and the
3names of any persons authorized to represent the applicant before the department.
AB207-engrossed,12,54 2. A description of the area or areas of the state in which the applicant intends
5to provide video service.
AB207-engrossed,12,76 3. The date on which the applicant intends to begin providing video service in
7the video franchise area.
AB207-engrossed,12,98 4. An affidavit signed by an officer or general partner of the applicant that
9affirms all of the following:
AB207-engrossed,12,1110 a. That the applicant has filed or will timely file with the FCC all forms required
11by the FCC in advance of offering video service.
AB207-engrossed,12,1312 b. That the applicant agrees to comply with this section and all applicable
13federal statutes and regulations.
AB207-engrossed,12,1514 c. That the applicant is legally, financially, and technically qualified to provide
15video service.
AB207-engrossed,12,1616 5. A description of the services that the applicant proposes to provide.
AB207-engrossed,12,1817 6. An application fee of $2,000, or, if the applicant is applying for a modified
18video service franchise as required under par. (j), an application fee of $100.
AB207-engrossed,12,2319 (e) Service upon municipalities. 1. At the time that an applicant submits an
20application under par. (d), or a video service provider submits a notification
21regarding a modification to an application under par. (j), to the department, the
22applicant or video service provider shall serve a copy of the application or notification
23on each municipality in the video franchise area.
AB207-engrossed,13,424 2. a. This subdivision applies only to a municipality that, under subd. 1., is
25served a copy of an application or that, under subd. 1., is served a copy of a

1notification relating to an expansion of the area or areas of the state in which a video
2service provider intends to provide video service, if the municipality has not
3previously been served a copy of an application under subd. 1. by that video service
4provider.
AB207-engrossed,13,135 b. If a municipality specified in subd. 2. a. has granted any cable franchise that
6is in effect immediately before the effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts
7date], the municipality shall, no later than 10 business days after receipt of the copy,
8notify the applicant in writing of the number of PEG channels for which incumbent
9cable operators are required to provide channel capacity in the municipality, the
10amount and type of monetary support for access facilities for PEG channels required
11of incumbent cable operators as described in sub. (7) (em), and the percentage of
12revenues that incumbent cable operators are required to pay the municipality as
13franchise fees.
AB207-engrossed,13,1714 (f) Department duties. 1. No later than 15 business days after the filing of an
15application, the department shall notify the applicant in writing as to whether the
16application is complete and, if the department has determined that the application
17is not complete, the department shall state the reasons for the determination.
AB207-engrossed,14,318 2. No later than 15 business days after the filing of an application that the
19department has determined is complete, the department shall determine whether
20an applicant is legally, financially, and technically qualified to provide video service.
21If the department determines that an applicant is legally, financially, and technically
22qualified to provide video service, the department shall issue a video service
23franchise to the applicant. If the department determines that an applicant is not
24legally, financially, and technically qualified to provide video service, the department
25shall reject the application and shall state the reasons for the determination. If the

1department fails to make the determination, the department shall be considered to
2have issued a video service franchise to the applicant, unless the applicant
3withdraws the application or agrees with the department to an extension of time.
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