HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12131994 - X.1 TO: 'BOARD OF SUPERVISORS `'`"•.5 'L °^ Contra
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator ` Costa
FROM:
County
December 13, 1994
�> T�
DATE:
TOLL THE TIME FOR REVIEW OF VIACOM'S BASIC RATES
SUBJECT:
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
ISSUE order tolling the time for review of the FCC Form 1210
submitted by Viacom Cablevision (Bay Point) for an additional
ninety (90) days .
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
In December, 1992, the United States Congress passed the Cable
Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, which
authorized local jurisdictions to regulate cable television rates
of the basic tier and associated equipment.
Pursuant to the rules of the Federal Communications Commission
( "FCC" ) , which were adopted to implement rate regulation, cable
operators are permitted quarterly to pass through certain external
costs by submitting an FCC Form 1210 . Viacom submitted Form 1210
to the -County in November, 1994 .
Under the FCC rules, the County has a period of 30 days to review
and act upon the Form 1210 (FCC Rules 76 . 922 (d) (3) and 76 . 933(a) ) .
In the event that the County cannot complete its review within that
time, the time for review may be extended an additional 90 days
(FCC Rule 76 . 933(b) ) . In addition, where the review cannot be
completed within the extended period, the County may adopt an
accounting order requiring the cable operator to keep detailed
records of monies received from customers and to abide by any
subsequent refund order issued by the County (FCC Rule 76 . 933(c) ) .
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
.L RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
Y I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN, G'/
ATTESTED
Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
CC: e A p _ (7�- SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY DEPUTY
_2_
To date, staff has not been able to complete review of Viacom's
Form 1210. Due to the great number of forms received from Viacom
and other cable operators, Staff did not realize, until the
afternoon of December 12, 1994, that the time for extending the
review period would expire on or about December 15, 1994 and that
it would be necessary for the Board to act before that date. In
addition, on the basis of recent discussions and previous dealings
with Viacom, staff expected that Viacom would be willing to
voluntarily consent to an extension of the review period.
Viacom has now indicated that it is not ,willing, at this time, to
voluntarily consent to extend the review period, as requested by
staff . This leaves no choice but to proceed with this Board order
pursuant to the FCC rules -
CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Under the FCC rules, an order extending the time for review must be
adopted within 30 days of the submission of the Form 1210 . If this
Board order is not adopted on December 13, 1994, the opportunity
for the County to review Viacom' s rate increase and to order a
refund, if indicated, would be lost.