Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have reintroduced a bill that would reregulate cable franchise fees.

The Protecting Community Television Act would “clarify” that the 5% cap on a cable franchise fee applies only to monetary “assessments” and not in-kind contributions.

“In 2019, the FCC allowed cable companies to put a price tag on in-kind contributions they provide to communities, including PEG [public, education and government] channels,” said Markey in re-reintroducing the bill. “Under the rule, cable companies can then subtract the ascribed value from the franchising fees that they pay in order to operate. The FCC’s decision has forced local governments across the country to decide between supporting PEG programming and supporting other public services for schools, public safety buildings, and libraries in cable franchise agreements.”

The bill, first introduced in 2020, was reintroduced in December 2021. Given that the House is now controlled by Republicans, who generally oppose the bill, and that it did not pass when Democrats controlled both Houses makes its fate likely to match those of the earlier, unsuccessful, efforts.

The Federal Communications Commission, under then-chair Ajit Pai, and with the backing of NCTA, voted along party lines in 2019 that non-cash, “in-kind’ exactions from cable operators by local franchise authorities as part of their franchise agreements were indeed fees subject to the 5% cap. It also preempted state or local franchise regulations that conflicted with those conclusions and extended its rules to state as well as local franchises.  A federal appeals court upheld that FCC vote.

Also: Dems Seek to Reregulate Cable Franchise Fees

As an example of one of those non-cash exactions that needed to count toward the fee, the court noted, was “a demand by St. Louis that a cable operator contribute 20 percent of its stock to the city.”

Markey and Baldwin hope that a new Congress will give them a new opportunity to “clarify” the rule, or put another way, reverse the rule voted by an FCC majority and upheld by the courts.

Currently, the FCC could not reverse its own rule unless one of its Republican members supported that move, which would be highly unlikely. ■

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have reintroduced thier Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act, which would ensure funding for, and access to, public, educational and government (PEG) channels.

The bill would insure that public, educational and government (PEG) channels remain on cable's basic tier and would allow PEG funding to be used for salaries, among other things. "The CAP Act involves no federal spending, will address the severe challenges faced by PEG access channels and local community media, and will save thousands of jobs across the country," according to Sen. Markey's website.

“ACT has been working with these offices and many others to create a solution that will reverse the harm done to PEG access television,” said John Rocco, president of American Community Television, in a statement. “The CAP Act is critical to the survival of these important local television channels. We are already losing channels and could lose many more if we don’t restore the intent of the Cable Act, which found PEG access television important to local communities and democracy.”

Last time around, broadcast group TVFreedom backed the bill. Broadcasters have been fighting cable efforts to include a prohibition on basic-tier status for retrans stations, so they share with PEG proponents the goal of preserving their respective basic tier positions.

Specifically, the act "amends the Cable Act to ensure that PEG fees can be used for any purpose, including paying employee salaries. The legislation reaffirms that cable operators must deliver PEG channels to subscribers without additional charges, and via channel placement with the same quality, accessibility and functionality as provided to local television broadcast stations. Finally, it requires operators to provide the support required under state laws, the support historically provided for PEG, or up to 2% of gross revenue — whichever is greater.

The bill could have a hard slog in a Republican-controlled House and Senate.