Requires cable television companies and telephone corporations to provide local news channels to customers in the basic service tier offered by such companies.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8662
SPONSOR: Abinanti TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public service law, in relation to
requiring cable television companies and telephone corporations to
provide local news programming
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would require every cable television company and telephone
corporation that provides cable television service to carry a local news
channel to ensure a source of local information to every community.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill is the legislative intent.
Section 2 amends public service law section 215 by adding a new subdivi-
sion 14 to require the public service commission, within sixty days of
the effective date of this subdivision, to the extent permitted by, and
not contrary to applicable federal law and rules and regulations, to
issue rules and regulations it deems appropriate, if any, to effectuate
the purposes of this act.
Section 3 amends public service law section 224 by adding a new subdivi-
sion 4-a to:
(a) Require every cable television company and telephone corporation
that provides cable service to customers in New York to provide a local
news channel to such customers.
(b) Define "local news channel".
(c) Require that local news channel programming consist primarily of
independently locally produced programming and not be a duplication or
rebroadcast of a local news channel produced or carried by another tele-
vision company or telephone corporation providing cable service to
customers in New York covering all or a significant portion of the
geographic coverage area of the cable television company or telephone
corporation.
(d)Require a local news channel be included in the basic service tier
offered by the cable television company or telephone corporation.
Section 4 requires the Public Service Commission to study and report to
the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of
the assembly on compliance by cable television companies and telephone
corporations with the requirements of this section and to consider,
evaluate and report recommendations on or before December 1, 2021.
Section 5 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
A functioning democracy depends on a citizenry informed by news in ways
that are currently in severe jeopardy. It is vital to the public health,
safety and welfare that residents be informed about news and weather
events and their impacts on their local communities.
As noted in the spring 2018 Howard Law School Law Review Article "Fake
News," No News, and the Needs of Local Communities, there has been a
significant decrease in original local news reporting. Increasingly,
small communities have no daily news coverage. According to the article,
more than 500 local stations broadcast no local news at all. In addi-
tion, due to newsroom cutbacks, local television reporting has weakened.
Reporters that cultivated sources, and became familiar with local issues
and the local community are rare.
Community newspaper reporters who once regularly attended community
meetings and conducted interviews have seen their newspapers close.
Despite the expanding number of news outlets on the internet, there is
not much original local reporting.
Most recently a cable television provider covering the Lower Hudson
Valley, Long Island and northern New Jersey has announced it will
discontinue its local news station and replace it with a rebroadcast of
local news from another cable television service provider, further
exacerbating the demise of independent local news coverage.
This legislation will help ensure that residents of the State have
access to local news and information critical to their health, safety
and welfare and necessary for citizenry in a functioning democracy.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section
three of this act shall take effect one year after this act shall have
become law for any cable television company or telephone corporation not
providing a local news channel as of the fifteenth day of October two
thousand nineteen.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8662
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
October 21, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring cable
television companies and telephone corporations to provide local news
programming
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that it
2 is vital to the public health, safety and welfare that residents be
3 informed about news and weather events and their impacts on their local
4 communities; and that to further this important government purpose every
5 cable television company and telephone corporation providing cable
6 service to customers in New York shall make available to every subscrib-
7 er a source of local information affecting their community; and that
8 this purpose is best served by a content neutral requirement that every
9 cable television company or provider of cable service shall carry a
10 local news channel pursuant to this act.
11 § 2. Subdivision 13 of section 215 of the public service law, as added
12 by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended and a new subdivision 14
13 is added to read as follows:
14 13. Encourage and cooperate with other state agencies that collect
15 information from cable television companies serving fewer than one thou-
16 sand subscribers to eliminate duplicative reporting requirements[.];
17 14. Within sixty days of the effective date of the chapter of the laws
18 of two thousand nineteen that added this subdivision, to the extent
19 permitted by, and not contrary to applicable federal law and rules and
20 regulations, issue such rules and regulations it deems appropriate, if
21 any, to effectuate the purpose of the chapter of the laws of two thou-
22 sand nineteen that added this subdivision, including the hours and dura-
23 tion of such programming based on the size of the cable television
24 company or telephone corporation and its affiliates, the size of its
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13988-03-9
A. 8662 2
1 market, the size of its coverage area, the number of its subscribers,
2 and/or the number of its channels in the relevant coverage area.
3 § 3. Section 224 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 4-a to read as follows:
5 4-a. (a) Every cable television company and telephone corporation, as
6 defined in subdivision seventeen of section two of this chapter, that
7 provides cable service to customers in New York shall provide a local
8 news channel to such customers.
9 (b) As used in this section, "local news channel" shall mean a channel
10 which is dedicated to the category of locally produced programming,
11 including but not limited to, news, weather and public affairs program-
12 ming primarily covering the total geographic coverage area of the cable
13 television company or telephone corporation.
14 (c) Such local news channel programming shall consist primarily of
15 independently locally produced programming and shall not be a dupli-
16 cation or rebroadcast of a local news channel produced and carried by
17 another cable television company or telephone corporation providing
18 cable service to customers in New York covering all or a significant
19 portion of the geographic coverage area of the cable television company
20 or telephone corporation. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent a
21 cable television company or telephone corporation from also carrying one
22 or more additional channels which are a duplication or rebroadcast of a
23 local news channel carried by another cable television company or tele-
24 phone corporation or from rebroadcasting programming carried by another
25 cable television company or telephone corporation.
26 (d) A local news channel shall be included in the basic service tier
27 offered by the cable television company or telephone corporation.
28 (e) Nothing herein shall be construed to be a prohibition of or limi-
29 tation on programming as described in section two hundred twenty-nine of
30 this article.
31 § 4. On or before the first day of December two thousand twenty-one,
32 the chairman of the public service commission shall study and report to
33 the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of
34 the assembly on compliance by cable television companies and telephone
35 corporations with the requirements of subdivision 4-a of section 224 of
36 the public service law as added by this chapter and shall consider,
37 evaluate and report recommendations regarding such.
38 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
39 section three of this act shall take effect one year after this act
40 shall have become a law for any cable television company or telephone
41 corporation not providing a local news channel as of October 15, 2019.
