4.0.a. SWCSR 08-15-2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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470 U.S.Bank Plaza Kennedy 200 South Sixth Street Minneapolis MN 55402 (612)337-9300 telephone Graven (612)337-9310 fax http://www.kennedy-graven.corn CHARTERED MEMORANDUM To: Clients From: Bob Vose Date: August 8, 2019 Re: Final FCC Order; Franchise Fees and PEG Support Last year, I provided information about the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) addressing the calculation of franchise fees and PEG support payments by local cable operators. The NPRM indicated that the FCC may authorize cable operators to take certain significant offsets from franchise fees. I provided an update last month after a draft order was released. The final order(the "621 Order") was adopted on August 1st The 621 Order is largely consistent with the recent draft. The 621 Order contains an explanation of each issue addressed and the rulings made regarding those issues. However, the actual amendments to the text of the Code of Federal Regulations made by the 621 Order provide a good summary: § 76.42 —In-Kind Contributions. (a) In-kind, cable-related contributions are "franchise fees" subject to the five percent cap set forth in 47 U.S.C. 542(b). Such contributions, which count toward the five percent cap at their fair market value, include any non-monetary contributions related to the provision of cable service by a cable operator as a condition or requirement of a local franchise, including but not limited to: (1) Costs attributable to the provision of free or discounted cable service to public buildings, including buildings leased by or under control of the franchising authority; (2) Costs in support of public, educational, or governmental access facilities, with the exception of capital costs; and (3) Costs attributable to the construction of institutional networks. (b) In-kind, cable-related contributions do not include the costs of complying with build-out and customer service requirements. § 76.43—Mixed-Use Rule. A franchising authority may not regulate the provision of any services other than cable services offered over the cable system of a cable operator, with the exception of channel capacity on institutional networks.