LAW WITHOUT
GOVERNOR'S CHAPTER
SIGNATURE
502
FEBRUARY 18, 2024 PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
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IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
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H.P. 1264 - L.D. 1967
An Act to Support Municipal Franchise Agreements
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is
further amended to read:
C. To provide adequate statutory authority to municipalities to make franchising and
regulatory decisions to implement this policy and to avoid the costs and uncertainty of
lawsuits challenging that authority; and
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is
amended to read:
D. To ensure that all cable television operators video service providers receive the
same treatment with respect to franchising and regulatory processes and to encourage
new providers to provide competitive pressure on the pricing of such services.; and
Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
E. Consistent with the applicable requirements of this section, to prohibit a video
service provider from offering or providing its services within a municipality unless it
has entered into a franchise agreement or contract with the municipality pursuant to
this section.
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is
amended to read:
1-A. Definitions. For purposes of As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings:.
A. "Cable system operator" has the same meaning as "cable operator," as that term is
defined in 47 United States Code, Section 522(5), as in effect on January 1, 2008;.
B. "Cable television service" has the same meaning as "cable service," as that term is
defined in 47 United States Code, Section 522(6), as in effect on January 1, 2008; and.
C. "Cable television system" has the same meaning as "cable system," as that term is
defined in 47 United States Code, Section 522(7), as in effect on January 1, 2008.
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D. "Affiliate" means a business entity effectively controlling or controlled by another
person or associated with other persons under common ownership or control.
E. "Application" means an interactive computer or software program operating on a
device that provides for the reception of transmitted or streamed video, audio or other
digital content from a video service provider over the Internet or other electronic
communications network in real time or near real time, allowing a user to receive such
content on a device without downloading the entire content file.
F. "Facility support transmission equipment" means the equipment associated with the
interconnection between public, educational and governmental facility equipment and
the headend of a video service provider's system, beginning at the point at which a
public, educational and governmental signal enters transmitting equipment, which
must be owned, maintained and upgraded for signal quality or another reason by the
video service provider. "Facility support transmission equipment" includes, but is not
limited to, the equipment and facilities associated with signal transmission and carriage
methodologies employed to send, receive, manage, troubleshoot and maintain audio
and video signals; all physical wires, fiber lines and related connectivity medium or
device; and all equipment associated with the formatting of public, educational and
governmental programming for transmission to a subscriber of the video service
provider.
G. "Public, educational and governmental facility equipment" means, with respect to
any public, educational and governmental access channel, the equipment used to
capture and process programming in the field or in a public, educational or
governmental studio, including all equipment used prior to the point at which that
signal enters the private network of the video service provider.
H. "Public, educational and governmental programming" means content produced or
provided by any person, group or public or private agency or organization that is used
in conjunction with public, educational and governmental access channels and facility
support transmission equipment.
I. "Public, educational and governmental signal" means any transmission of
electromagnetic or optical energy that carries audio or video from one location to
another for the purposes of providing public, educational and governmental
programming.
J. "Video service provider" means any person that directly or through one or more
affiliates sells in the State access to video, audio or computer-generated or computer-
augmented entertainment and owns or operates facilities located in whole or in part in
a municipality's public rights-of-way that are used to provide those services,
irrespective of the technology or application used to deliver such services.
"Video service provider" includes, but is not limited to, a cable system operator and a
common carrier that operates a cable television system. "Video service provider" does
not include:
(1) A provider of commercial mobile service, as defined in 47 United States Code,
Section 332(d)(1); or
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 (2) A provider of an Internet access service, as defined in 47 United States Code,
Section 231(e)(4), with respect to the provision of the Internet service by the
provider.
Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is
further amended to read:
B. Notwithstanding any provision in a franchise, a cable system operator video service
provider may not abandon service or a portion of that service without having given 6
months' prior written notice to the franchising municipality, if any, and to the
municipalities affected by that abandonment. When abandonment of any service is
prohibited by a municipal franchise, a cable system operator video service provider
may not abandon that service without written consent of the municipal officers. Any
cable system operator video service provider that violates this paragraph commits a
civil violation for which a fine of $50 a day for each day that the violation continues
may be adjudged.
Sec. 6. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is
further amended to read:
C. Neither the cable system operator video service provider whose facilities are facility
support transmission equipment is used to transmit a program produced by a person
other than that operator provider, under Federal Communications Commission
regulations or municipal ordinance, nor the officers, directors or employees of any such
cable system operator that provider are liable for damages arising from any obscene or
defamatory statements or actions or invasion of privacy occurring during any program
when that cable system operator provider does not originate or produce the program.
Sec. 7. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§3, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 308, §1, is
repealed.
Sec. 8. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§3, ¶G is enacted to read:
G. Notwithstanding any provision in a franchise, a video service provider is
responsible for all costs associated with public, educational and governmental facility
equipment shown by the franchising municipality to be reasonably necessary in light
of community needs and interests for the capture, processing and delivery to the video
service provider of public, educational and governmental access channels within the
franchising municipality, including, but not limited to, technology upgrade costs for
signal quality improvement or for other reasons. A video service provider may not
offset any such costs through the payment of required fees under subsection 5-A, but
may recover such costs from subscribers to the extent permitted by applicable law and
as negotiated with the municipality.
Sec. 9. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§3, ¶H is enacted to read:
H. New facility support transmission equipment installed must be at the current
resolution technology afforded to broadcasting stations.
Sec. 10. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2007, c. 548, §1, is further
amended to read:
4. Franchise procedures. Pursuant to subsection 2, a municipality may enact
ordinances governing the procedures for granting franchises to cable system operators
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video service providers. These ordinances must be enacted before granting any such
franchise or franchises and must be designed to ensure that the terms and conditions of a
franchise will adequately protect the needs and interests of the municipality. The
ordinances must include, but are not limited to, provisions for the following:
A. A mechanism for determining special local needs or interests before issuing a
request for proposals, whether by actively seeking to determine those needs or interests
or by allowing a period for public comment on a proposed request for proposals;
B. The filing of franchise applications and related documents as public records, with
reasonable notice to the public that the records are open to inspection during reasonable
hours;
C. A reasonable opportunity for public input before granting franchises; and
D. The assessment of reasonable fees to defray the costs of public notice, advertising
and other expenses incurred by the municipality in acting upon applications.
Sec. 11. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2019, c. 245, §§1 to 3, is
further amended to read:
5. Franchise agreements or contracts. The State specifically authorizes municipal
officers pursuant to ordinances to contract on such terms and conditions and impose such
fees as are in the best interests of the municipality provided for under this subsection,
including the grant of exclusive or nonexclusive franchises for a period not to exceed 15
years, for the placing and maintenance of cable television systems and appurtenances, or
parts thereof, along in public ways and including contracts with cable system operators
video service providers that receive the services of television signal transmission offered
by any public utilities using public ways for such transmission. A video service provider
may not offer or provide its services within a municipality unless it has entered into a
franchise agreement or contract with the municipality pursuant to this subsection. A public
utility may not be required to contract with the municipal officers under this subsection.
Each Any new, renewed or amended franchise must contain the following provisions:
A. The area or areas to be served;
B. A line extension policy, which must specify a minimum density requirement of no
more than an average of 15 residences per linear strand mile of aerial cable for areas in
which the cable system operator video service provider will make cable television
service available to every residence. A strand mile under this paragraph is measured
from the end of the current cable system strand installation;
A video service provider may not establish mandatory preconditions to be met by
potential subscribers for the construction of a line extension on a municipal public
right-of-way including, but not limited to, a requirement that a potential subscriber sign
a contract for service in advance of the construction of the line extension. Nothing in
this paragraph prohibits a video service provider from requiring payment of cost
sharing from potential subscribers prior to construction of a line extension in
accordance with a line extension policy required by this paragraph.
C. A provision for renewal, the term of which may not exceed 15 years. A provision
for automatic renewal or other provision for extending the initial term is prohibited.
Franchise renewal is governed by section 3010, subsection 5‑C;
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 C-1. Provisions regarding the payment or remittance of any franchise fees by the video
service provider as may be required under the agreement or contract between the
municipality and the video service provider and in accordance with subsection 5-A;
D. Procedures for the investigation and resolution of complaints by the cable system
operator video service provider;
D-1. A provision for the use and support of public, educational and governmental
access channels, which must be carried in the same manner and numerical location
sequence as are the local broadcast channels originating from the State and carried on
the cable television system pursuant to section 3010, subsection 5‑A; and
E. Any other terms and conditions that are in the best interests of the municipality.
Sec. 12. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A. Franchise fees. Any new, renewed or amended franchise agreement or contract
between a municipality and a video service provider that includes provisions requiring
payment of any franchise fees by the video service provider to the municipality must
include the following provisions.
A. The municipality is authorized to use the franchise fees for costs associated with
the regulation of the operation of the video service provider within the municipality; to
support the provision of public, educational and governmental programming within the
municipality; to offset municipal property taxes; or for any other purpose identified by
the municipality.
B. The franchise fees must be paid by the video service provider to the municipality
or its designee on a quarterly basis and must be received by the municipality or its
designee no later than 45 days after the end of the calendar quarter for which the
payment is made. If the video service provider fails to timely pay to the municipality
or its designee:
(1) Interest must accrue on the required, unpaid fees at the rate of 12% simple
interest per annum; and
(2) The repeated failure to timely pay such fees is a material breach of the terms
of the franchise agreement or contract, and the municipality may at its discretion
terminate the agreement or contract.
C. Each payment under paragraph B must include a statement prepared by a financial
representative or agent of the video service provider, testified and verified as correct,
identifying the total amount of gross annual revenue generated by all activities of the
provider within the municipality for that payment period and describing the
calculations used to determine the amount of the payment. The video service provider
shall prepare and maintain the financial information and records necessary to provide
the information required under this paragraph in accordance with accounting principles
and auditing standards generally accepted within the video service industry.
D. The municipality may request that the information provided by the video service
provider pursuant to paragraph C be subject to audit by a qualified 3rd party to be
selected by the municipality. The costs of the audit are to be paid by the municipality
except when the results of the audit demonstrate that the video service provider
underpaid by more than 4% any franchise fees required under the franchise agreement
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 or contract, in which case the video service provider must reimburse the municipality
for the costs of the audit.
E. A municipality's or its designee's acceptance of franchise fees paid by the video
service provider does not constitute an agreement by the municipality that the amount
of the fee is correct unless the municipality has not initiated a process to challenge or
audit the amount of the fee paid within 36 months of receipt or, in the case of a fee not
accompanied by a statement under paragraph C that is verified as correct, 48 months
of receipt. Prior to the expiration of such time period, the municipality may inspect
relevant financial information and records of the video service provider and initiate a
process to seek compensation for any underpayment.
Sec. 13. 30-A MRSA §3008, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2019, c. 245, §4, is further
amended to read:
7. Model franchise agreement. The Department of Administrative and Financial
Services, Office of Information Technology, or a successor state agency, referred to in this
subsection as "the office," shall develop and may update and amend a model franchise
agreement for use by any municipality and any cable system operator video service
provider that mutually choose to adopt the model franchise agreement or any of its
provisions. A cable system operator video service provider may not modify or amend the
model franchise agreement without the consent of the municipality. The office shall make
the model franchise agreement available on its publicly accessible website. In the
development of the model franchise agreement, the office shall, at a minimum, consider
the following issues:
A. Franchise fees;
B. Build-out requirements;
C. Public, educational and governmental access channels and reasonable public,
educational and governmental facility support equipment for such channels;
D. Customer service standards;
E. The disparate needs of the diverse municipalities in this State; and
F. The policy goal of promoting competition in the delivery of cable television video
service.
This subsection does not allow the office to establish prices for any cable television video
service or to regulate the content of cable television service