4. The bill prohibits state agencies and municipalities from requiring video
service providers and interim cable operators to provide institutional networks or
equivalent capacity. The bill defines "institutional network" as a network that
connects governmental, educational, and community institutions.
5. The bill repeals requirements enforced by DATCP and district attorneys
regarding cable television subscriber rights regarding service interruptions and
disconnections, repairs, program service deletions, and rate increases.
6. The bill repeals a prohibition under current law on the provision of
electronically published news, feature and entertainment material, and electronic
advertising service by certain telecommunications utilities.
7. The bill changes other requirements under current law that apply or refer to
cable television or cable operators so that they also apply or refer to video service or
video service providers. Such requirements include the following: 1) requirements
applicable to access to cable service in multiunit dwellings, mobile home parks, and
condominiums; 2) requirements applicable to a municipality's construction,
ownership, or operation of facilities for providing cable service, telecommunications
service, or broadband service; 3) exemptions related to the telephone company tax
and the personal property tax; 4) the sales and use tax on the sale of cable television

system services; 5) certain requirements enforced by the PSC regarding extensions
by utilities and cable operators over the rights-of-way of other utilities and cable
operators; and 6) theft of cable service.
Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be
referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed
as an appendix to the bill.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB207, s. 1 1Section 1. 11.01 (17g) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB207,8,62 11.01 (17g) "Public access channel" means a PEG channel that is required
3under a franchise granted under s. 66.0419 (3) (b) by a city, village, or town to a cable
4operator, as defined in s. 66.0419 (2) (b), and
, as defined in s. 66.0420 (2) (s), that is
5used for public access purposes, but does not include a PEG channel that is used for
6governmental or educational purposes.
AB207, s. 2 7Section 2. 20.395 (3) (jh) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB207,8,138 20.395 (3) (jh) Utility facilities within highway rights-of-way, state funds.
9From the general fund, all moneys received from telecommunications providers, as
10defined in s. 196.01 (8p), or cable television telecommunications service providers,
11as defined in s. 196.01 (1r), for activities related to locating, accommodating,
12operating, or maintaining utility facilities within highway rights-of-way, for such
13purposes.
AB207, s. 3 14Section 3. 25.40 (1) (a) 4m. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB207,8,1715 25.40 (1) (a) 4m. Moneys received from telecommunications providers or cable
16television telecommunications service providers that are deposited in the general
17fund and credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.395 (3) (jh).
AB207, s. 4
1Section 4. 60.23 (24) of the statutes is repealed.
AB207, s. 5 2Section 5. 66.0419 (title), (1), (2) and (3) of the statutes are repealed.
AB207, s. 6 3Section 6. 66.0419 (3m) of the statutes is renumbered 66.0420 (12), and
466.0420 (12) (title), (a) and (b) 2., as renumbered, are amended to read:
AB207,9,95 66.0420 (12) (title) Municipal cable television system costs. (a) Except for
6costs for any of the following, a municipality that owns and operates a cable television
7system, or an entity owned or operated, in whole or in part, by such a municipality,
8may not require nonsubscribers of the cable television system to pay any of the costs
9of the cable television system:
AB207,9,1010 1. Public, educational, and governmental access PEG channels.
AB207,9,1211 2. Debt service on bonds issued under s. 66.0619 to finance the construction,
12renovation, or expansion of a cable television system.
AB207,9,1413 3. The provision of broadband service by the cable television system, if the
14requirements of s. 66.0422 (3d) (a), (b), or (c) are satisfied.
AB207,9,1915 (b) 2. A majority of the governing board of the municipality votes to submit the
16question of supporting the operation of a cable television system by the municipality
17to the electors in an advisory referendum and a majority of the voters in the
18municipality voting at the advisory referendum vote to support the operation of a
19cable television system by the municipality.
AB207, s. 7 20Section 7. 66.0420 of the statutes is created to read:
AB207,9,22 2166.0420 Video service. (1) Legislative findings. The legislature finds all
22of the following:
AB207,9,2423 (a) Video service brings important daily benefits to state residents by providing
24news, education, and entertainment.
AB207,10,3
1(b) Uniform regulation of all video service providers by this state is necessary
2to ensure that state residents receive adequate and efficient video service and to
3protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
AB207,10,64 (c) Fair competition in the provision of video service will result in new and more
5video programming choices for consumers in this state, and a number of providers
6have stated their desire to provide that service.
AB207,10,87 (d) Timely entry into the market is critical for new entrants seeking to compete
8with existing providers.
AB207,10,119 (e) This state's economy would be enhanced by additional investment in
10communications and video programming infrastructure by existing and new
11providers of video service.
AB207,10,1312 (f) Minimal regulation of all providers of video service within a uniform
13framework will promote the investment described in par. (e).
AB207,10,1614 (g) Ensuring that existing providers of video service are subject to the same
15regulatory requirements and procedures as new entrants will ensure fair
16competition among all providers.
AB207,10,2117 (h) This section is an enactment of statewide concern for the purpose of
18providing uniform regulation of video service that promotes investment in
19communications and video infrastructures and the continued development of this
20state's video service marketplace within a framework that is fair and equitable to all
21providers.
AB207,10,22 22(2) Definitions. In this section:
AB207,10,2523 (a) "Affiliate", when used in relation to any person, means another person who
24owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control
25with such person.
AB207,11,3
1(b) "Basic local exchange service area" means the area on file with the public
2service commission in which a telecommunications video service provider provides
3basic local exchange service, as defined in s. 196.01 (1g).
AB207,11,54 (c) "Cable franchise" means a franchise granted under s. 66.0419 (3) (b), 2005
5stats.
AB207,11,66 (d) "Cable operator" has the meaning given in 47 USC 522 (5).
AB207,11,77 (e) "Cable service" has the meaning given in 47 USC 522 (6).
AB207,11,88 (f) "Cable system" has the meaning given in 47 USC 522 (7).
AB207,11,99 (g) "Department" means the department of financial institutions.
AB207,11,1010 (h) "FCC" means the federal communications commission.
AB207,11,1211 (i) "Franchise fee" has the meaning given in 47 USC 542 (g), and includes any
12compensation required under s. 66.0425.
AB207,11,1513 (j) 1. "Gross receipts" means all revenues received by and paid to a video service
14provider by subscribers residing within a municipality for video service, including
15all of the following:
AB207,11,1616 a. Recurring charges for video service.
AB207,11,1817 b. Event-based charges for video service, including pay-per-view and
18video-on-demand charges.
AB207,11,1919 c. Rental of set top boxes and other video service equipment.
AB207,11,2120 d. Service charges related to the provision of video service, including activation,
21installation, repair, and maintenance charges.
AB207,11,2322 e. Administrative charges related to the provision of video service, including
23service order and service termination charges.
AB207,11,2524 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., "gross receipts" does not include any of the
25following:
AB207,12,2
1a. Discounts, refunds, and other price adjustments that reduce the amount of
2compensation received by a video service provider.
AB207,12,53 b. Uncollectible fees, except that any uncollectible fees that are written off as
4bad debt but subsequently collected shall be included as gross receipts in the period
5collected, less the expenses of collection.
AB207,12,66 c. Late payment charges.
AB207,12,77 d. Maintenance charges.
AB207,12,128 e. Amounts billed to video service subscribers to recover taxes, fees, surcharges
9or assessments of general applicability or otherwise collected by a video service
10provider from video service subscribers for pass through to any federal, state, or local
11government agency, including video service provider fees and regulatory fees paid to
12the FCC under 47 USC 159.
AB207,12,1513 f. Revenue from the sale of capital assets or surplus equipment not used by the
14purchaser to receive video service from the seller of those assets or surplus
15equipment.
AB207,12,2316 g. Charges, other than those described in subd. 1., that are aggregated or
17bundled with amounts described in subd. 1. and billed to video service subscribers,
18including but not limited to any revenues received by a video service provider or its
19affiliates for telecommunications services, information services, or the provision of
20directory or Internet advertising, including yellow pages, white pages, banner
21advertisement, and electronic publishing, if a video service provider can reasonably
22identify such charges on books and records kept in the regular course of business or
23by other reasonable means.
AB207,12,2524 h. Reimbursement by programmers of marketing costs actually incurred by a
25video service provider.
AB207,13,5
1(k) "Household" means a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or
2single room that is intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. For purposes
3of this paragraph, "separate living quarters" are those in which the occupants live
4and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct
5access from the outside of the building or through a common hall.
AB207,13,96 (L) "Incumbent cable operator" means a person who, immediately before the
7effective date of this paragraph, was providing cable service under a cable franchise,
8expired cable franchise, or cable franchise extension, or under an ordinance or
9resolution adopted or enacted by a municipality.
AB207,13,1110 (m) "Institutional network" means a network that connects governmental,
11educational, and community institutions.
AB207,13,1412 (n) "Interim cable operator" means an incumbent cable operator that elects to
13continue to provide cable service under a cable franchise as specified in sub. (3) (b)
142. a.
AB207,13,1615 (o) "Issued" means, with respect to a video service franchise, issued or
16considered to be issued by the department under sub. (3) (f) 2.
AB207,13,1917 (p) "Large telecommunications video service provider" means a
18telecommunications video service provider that has more than 500,000 basic local
19exchange access lines in this state.
AB207,13,2320 (q) "Low-income household" means any individual or group of individuals
21living together as one economic unit in a household whose aggregate annual income
22is not more than $35,000, as identified by the United States Census Bureau as of
23January 1, 2007.
AB207,13,2424 (r) "Municipality" means a city, village, or town.
AB207,14,2
1(s) "PEG channel" means a channel designated for noncommercial public,
2educational, or governmental use.
AB207,14,43 (r) "Service tier" means a category of video service for which a separate rate is
4charged.
AB207,14,65 (u) "State agency" means any board, commission, committee, department, or
6office in the state government.
AB207,14,97 (v) "Telecommunications video service provider" means a video service provider
8that uses facilities for providing telecommunications service, as defined in s. 196.01
9(9m), also to provide video service.
AB207,14,1210 (w) "Video franchise area" means the area or areas described in an application
11for a video service franchise under sub. (3) (d) 2., as modified, if applicable, in a
12notification made under sub. (3) (j).
AB207,14,1413 (x) "Video programming" means programming provided by, or generally
14considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station.
AB207,14,1915 (y) "Video service" means any video programming service, cable service, or
16service provided via an open video system that complies with 47 USC 573, that is
17provided through facilities located at least in part in public rights-of-way, without
18regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology or any other
19technology. "Video service" does not include any of the following:
AB207,14,2120 1. Video programming provided by a commercial mobile radio service provider,
21as defined in s. 196.01 (2g).
AB207,14,2422 2. Video programming provided solely as part of and via a service that enables
23users to access content, information, electronic mail, or any other service offered over
24the public Internet.
AB207,14,2525 (z) "Video service franchise" means a franchise issued under sub. (3) (f) 2.
AB207,15,4
1(zb) "Video service network" means wireline facilities, or any component
2thereof, located at least in part in the public right-of-way that deliver video service,
3without regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology or any
4other technology. "Video service network" includes a cable system.
AB207,15,75 (zg) "Video service provider" means a person, including an incumbent cable
6operator, who is issued a video service franchise or an affiliate, successor, or assign
7of such a person.
AB207,15,98 (zm) "Video service provider fee" means the fee paid by a video service provider
9under sub. (7).
AB207,15,13 10(3) Authority to provide video service. (a) In general. Except for an interim
11cable operator, and except as provided in par. (c), no person may provide video service
12in this state unless the department has issued a video service franchise to the person
13and the person has provided the notice required under par. (h).
AB207,15,1614 (b) Incumbent cable operators. 1. A municipality may not renew or extend the
15cable franchise of an incumbent cable operator that expires after the effective date
16of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date].
AB207,15,1717 2. An incumbent cable operator may do one of the following:
AB207,15,1918 a. Continue to provide cable service as an interim cable operator until the cable
19franchise expires.
AB207,16,220 b. Apply for a video service franchise. If an incumbent cable operator applies
21for a video service franchise, the cable franchise shall terminate and have no effect
22upon issuance of the video service franchise. Upon termination of the cable
23franchise, the municipality that granted the franchise shall, at the request of the
24incumbent cable operator, surrender, return, or take such other action as may be

1necessary to nullify any bond, letter of credit, or similar instrument intended to
2secure the performance of the incumbent cable operator under the cable franchise.
AB207,16,133 3. An incumbent cable operator whose cable franchise expires after the
4effective date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], may not, after expiration
5of the cable franchise, provide video service in this state unless the incumbent cable
6operator applies for a video service franchise under subd. 2. b. and, upon issuance
7of the video service franchise, provides the notice required under par. (h). An
8incumbent cable operator whose cable franchise expired before the effective date of
9this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], and who was providing cable service
10immediately before the effective date of this act, may continue to provide cable
11service if, no later than the first day of the 2nd month beginning after the effective
12date of this subdivision .... [revisor inserts date], the incumbent cable operator
13applies for a video service franchise under subd. 2. b.
AB207,16,1914 (c) Other providers. If a person, other than an incumbent cable operator, who
15was providing video service immediately before the effective date of this paragraph
16.... [revisor inserts date], applies, no later than the first day of the 2nd month
17beginning after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], for a
18video franchise, the person may provide video service until the department issues a
19video franchise to the person.
AB207,16,2120 (d) Application. An applicant for a video service franchise shall submit an
21application to the department that consists of all of the following:
AB207,16,2422 1. The location and telephone number of the applicant's principal place of
23business, the names of the principal executive officers of the applicant, and the
24names of any persons authorized to represent the applicant before the department.
AB207,17,2
12. A description of the area or areas of the state in which the applicant intends
2to provide video service.
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