SEATOA P-E-G Issues

SEATOA Supports Public – Educational – Government (P-E-G) Access Channels

SEATOA believes our local Public, Education and Government (PEG) cable access channels serve critical community purposes, such as life-time learning, worker training, conveying emergency information, and keeping the community in touch with itself, its educational institutions and its elected officials.

New state cable laws are slowly dismantling these channels, by closing off funding and failing to penalize cable operators who refuse to provide required PEG channels, or who are illegally removing these channels from the federally-mandated lowest priced, basic tier of cable services. Some companies are designing their video network to degrade the quality of PEG channels via a web-like, sub-menu format.

SEATOA feels Federal intervention is necessary to arrest this loss of an important community resource, a resource allocated to local communities under federal law - the 1984 Cable Act.

The North Carolina Department of Revenue has posted the documentation of the revenue paid for each PEG channel certified for the 2012 fiscal year. The documents may be found listed under the heading of:

On Thursday, May 5th, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), on behalf of herself and Congressman Steven LaTourette (R-OH), introduced the Community Access Preservation Act (the CAP Act - H.R. 1746) – link to the bill H.R. 1746 The CAP Act SEATOA and NATOA are proud to have been a part of the consortium of interested groups who joined with American Community Television (ACT) in their efforts to introduce this legislation.

But it is just the beginning! Now we need every one of you to contact your Representatives and ask them to support H.R. 1746, the CAP Act. You can look up your Representative's phone number here Directory of the House of Representatives or you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the office by name. Talking points on this legislation are available on ACT’s website via this link CAP Act Talking Points

Community Access agencies need to get their users involved. Whether it's the police department, the fire department, educational organizations, nonprofits, religious groups or individuals, we need to have the people who use Public-Educational-Government (PEG) access channels to call their Congressional Representatives and let them know they support PEG access television.

As ACT Board member Kathie Pohl stated in the press release from Baldwin and LaTourette's offices:
"I'm very excited that Congressman LaTourette is co-sponsoring this bill," said Kathie Pohl, Director of Marketing & Community Relations, City of Mentor, OH. "This benefits the entire community because it will mean that the city, schools and public access centers can continue to be used to inform the general public the way they were intended. But it also relieves a great financial burden on those cities that must pay to have their 'public' channels carried on the cable system. This deserves the full support of Congress," Pohl said.

Mary Cardona of the Wisconsin Association of PEG channels was also quoted in that release:
"Decisions at the state and federal level have combined to create a crisis for PEG. With the CAP Act, Reps. Baldwin and LaTourette effectively address the most immediate problems and open the door to the future by preserving support for PEG while the FCC conducts its study. This bill is critical to us. Wisconsin's rich community access heritage is on the line," said Mary Cardona, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Association of PEG Channels.

By request of SEATOA members from Georgia, SEATOA recently formulated an analysis of Georgia’s Consumer Choice for Television Act in regard to programming requirements for public, educational and government (PEG) channels under the provisions of the law.

Concerns were raised that the Consumer Choice for Television Act places programming requirements on existing PEG channels in terms of the number of required program hours and restrictions on duplicative programming.

After careful review SEATOA finds that the programming requirements specified in 36-76-8 only apply to newly formed PEG channels as part of the PEG development period specified in the law.

36-76-4(g) clearly states in paragraph 5:
(5) Notwithstanding a termination of a local franchise pursuant to this subsection, a municipality or county shall be entitled to operate its existing PEG channel or channels, as such existed on January 1, 2007, relating to the number of channels and the usage criteria for such channels under the same terms as the terminated local franchise had it not been terminated, pursuant to this subsection, until July 1, 2012. The 12 month development period for PEG channels set forth in subsection (a) of Code Section 36-76-8 shall not apply to existing PEG channels operating under the entitlement provisions of this subsection.

Moreover, 36-76-8(g) paragraph 6 states the following:
(6) The 12 month development period for PEG channels set forth in subsection (a) of Code Section 36-76-8 shall not apply to channels being operated at the time that any holder of a state franchise adopts or renews a state franchise after July 1, 2012.

Therefore, SEATOA finds that PEG channels already activated as of January 1, 2007 may continue to operate under the terms of the original franchise even if such a franchise has been terminated by the cable operator and replaced with a state issued franchise.

As indicated in SEATOA Monthly Updates the November elections brought major modifications in both federal and state representation in our member states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The committees that address our issues will be changing. The leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives will certainly change and the ratios of the committees will change (i.e. numbers of Republicans, numbers of Democrats).

SEATOA is working with associate agencies, including American Community Television (ACT) and NATOA to encourage our community members to build relationships with your Congressional Representatives, through both district and D.C. visits. ACT has developed Tips for a Productive Legislative Visit so that you can utilize these tips before you make your legislative visit and share them with others who want to visit their legislators. Tell your federal representatives about the CAP Act and ask them to support PEG-related legislation in the 112th Congress. Your visit will be one more re-enforcement for protecting community media.

In addition to work at the federal level, please let SEATOA know how we can help you at the state level. Your input will enable us to focus in on the key issues which will need to be addressed in our individual states during the next few years. We are here to provide you with the resources and assistance you need to deal with issues that may arise in your state. Just e-mail us at seatoa@carolina.rr.com

SEATOA member’s state legislatures – Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – all have new members that will need to be educated on the issues important to PEG operations and keeping community media alive and thriving. Our friends at ACT have developed a State Legislative Sessions Calendar to assist in planning meetings with state representatives.

CONGRATS TO NATOA PROGRAMMING AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to these SEATOA-region communities for their recent NATOA 2010 Government Programming Awards:

Category: Interview/Talk Show – Operating Budget Under $200,000 -Total Entries: 8
First Place: "Talk of the Town" – City of Winder, GA

Category: Profile of a City/County Dept. – Operating Budget Under $200,000 -Total Entries: 9
Second Place:"Murfreesboro Police Department Recruitment Video" – City of Murfreesboro, TN
Honorable Mention: "Murfreesboro Municipal Airport" – City of Murfreesboro, TN

Category: Public Safety – Operating Budget $200,000 - $400,000 - Total Entries: 6
Second Place: "2009 Flood" – Gwinnett County, GA

Category: Public Service Announcement – Operating Budget Under $200,000 - Total Entries: 12
Second Place: "Webstreaming Services" – City of Murfreesboro, TN

Category: Use of Humor - Total Entries: 12
Honorable Mention: "Webstreaming Services" – City of Murfreesboro, TN

While our Congressional representatives are back in their states and districts it is time to contact them in support of PEG.

NATOA Executive Director/General Counsel Steve Traylor and our partner organization American Community Television’s Executive Director Bunnie Riedel met House Energy and Commerce Committee and staffers from the majority offices of the Committee to discuss the CAP Act. Although we would like a hearing on the CAP Act - tight schedules and the election season mean chances of it may have to be put off until the Committee returns in January.

Our representatives emphasized the harm that has been done to PEG access television as a result of the statewide/state issued franchising laws and the harm that will come. They have developed a new talking points sheet called "An Industry Wide Effort" which shows that the harms to PEG aren't just from one or two cable operators, but indeed across the board. You can access those talking points at the ACT website http://www.acommunitytv.org/

In our advocacy efforts, we must be very clear that supporting PEG and the CAP Act is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue or a Libertarian issue or an Independent issue. It is about localism, information and transparency. It's about education, arts and community organizations. It's about one of the fundamental constitutional guarantees of our nation - free speech.

SEATOA is supporting NATOA and ACT in preparation for a meeting later in September to develop a strategy in support of PEG by reaching out to religious, minority and civic organizations to form a coalition to support the CAP Act and other positive PEG legislation. ACT has a sample petition available at its website for securing signatures from the producers, organizations and religious groups that use your channel. If you can gather signatures now, we can build a base of support for positive legislation that will support PEG access television. Go to: Sample Petition for PEG

In early May, the North Carolina Senate Finance Committee received a report from the NC Department of Revenue (NCDOR) regarding the performance of the 2006 Video Services Competition Act (VSCA) as required by State law. The NCDOR reported that revenue from the telecommunications sales tax established by the VSCA had generated more funds than originally anticipated and that local governments were realizing greater revenues from the sales tax.

At the hearing regarding this issue, Senator Daniel Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg) stated that since there were additional revenues available from the sales tax, consideration should be given to using some of those funds for increased support of the Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Access Channels operating in NC communities.

Under VSCA, the original PEG supplemental fund disbursements were capped at $2 million. And these funds were to be equally divided among the State's estimated 80 PEG channels – thus insuring the supplemental support amount of $25,000 for each channel annually. However, the State had underestimated the number of PEG channels and state-certified channels totaled more than 100 when the final numbers were reported to the NCDOR. Therefore, each channel’s supplemental funding was cut from $25,000 to approximately $15,000 annually.

Through the work of SEATOA – following up on Senator Clodfelter's assertion that consideration should be given to raising the PEG supplemental fund – NC State Representative Angela Bryant (D-Nash) introduced a measure which increased NC’s PEG supplemental fund from $2 million to $4 million beginning in July 2011. The measure was adopted as part of a 911 Funding Bill – with no vocal opposition.

SEATOA would like to thank Representative Bryant for introducing the additional measure regarding PEG funding, and Senator Clodfelter for shepherding it through the Senate.

Special thanks goes out to SEATOA President Catharine Rice for pushing this measure in Raleigh and to all PEG advocates throughout the state for keeping the pressure on our elected officials to continue to support PEG in North Carolina.

As most of you are probably aware, the FCC recently released its National Broadband Plan laying out a framework to insure broadband accessibility to all Americans. In addition to this ambitious plan, the FCC also recently held a hearing on the future of media and took testimony from all parts of the media industry.

As part of its study of the future of media, the FCC invited comments from individuals and organizations as to where they believe media should be headed in years to come. Of course, SEATOA, and our national organization NATOA, believe that PEG access is an integral part of the future of media in this country. Given the continuing consolidation of the mass media, fewer and fewer large corporations are controlling what Americans see and hear. PEG channels insure that local communities have a vehicle to communicate local information and programming which are not available anywhere else.

NATOA filed very strong comments regarding PEG's role in the future of media. We invite all of you to read them by clicking on the link below, and we thank NATOA's President, Ken Fellman for his strong support of PEG as evidenced by NATOA's comments.

SEATOA believes passage of the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act is vital – for the reasons stated below – and encourages you to contact your federal representatives to ask them to both co-sponsor the bill and vote in favor of its passage. Although the CAP Act does not address all issues regarding PEG, it is an excellent first step in insuring the long-term health and viability of PEG.

Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) recently introduced the CAP Act to address some of the most pressing issues facing PEG channels as a result of the passage of statewide cable franchising bills in more than 20 states and unfavorable rulings regarding PEG by the FCC. The CAP Act - while it does not resolve all of the issues effecting communities’ abilities to continue to provide vital PEG services to their citizens - does address four key areas of importance.

1. The CAP Act would amend the Cable Act to insure that PEG support fees could be used for any PEG purpose. The bill addresses the FCC's ruling that PEG support negotiated in cable franchises - in addition to the franchise fee permitted under the Cable Act of 1984 – may only be used for facilities and equipment and not for PEG operations. This ruling has crippled the ability of many PEG operators, who depend on negotiated support in local franchises, to continue to provide valuable PEG services to their communities.

2. The CAP Act reaffirms Congressional intent to provide PEG on the lowest cable tier and requires cable providers to treat PEG channels in the same manner as all other local commercial channels. Many cable providers are now discriminating against PEG channels in the manner in which these channels are provided and in the placement of these channels on their systems. With the emergence of digital and internet technologies, cable providers have attempted to relegate PEG to the outer reaches of their digital tiers This is vividly illustrated by Comcast's decision to move PEG channels in Michigan to the 900 series of channels – and by AT&T's introduction of their U-Verse system which bundles all PEG channels in a given region onto one single channel (99) and requires viewers to use a complicated menu
system to watch their desired PEG channel.

Historically, cable operators have provided PEG channels, in the same manner as local commercial channels, to all subscribers, and without any additional charges. Recently this long-established practice has been abandoned by many cable providers who are now providing PEG in a less accessible, lower quality and more expensive manner to their subscribers. The clear intent of Congress under the Cable Act is to require that PEG be provided to all subscribers on the least expensive and most accessible tier of service, and that PEG channels be treated in the same manner as all other local commercial channels.

3. The CAP Act requires the FCC to study the effect of statewide franchising legislation on PEG and to report its findings to Congress. It also requires cable operators to continue to support PEG at the level required in each state franchising bill, or at the historical level of support they were required to
provide PEG prior to state franchising, whichever is greater.

4. The CAP Act clarifies that any provider using a wired system and using public rights-of-way to deliver their service are indeed subject to the rules under the Cable Act. The CAP Act amends the Cable Act to make it technology neutral, so that any provider offering cable service, through a wired system using public rights-of-way are subject to all rules under the Cable Act. Some providers, for example, those using Internet Protocol, have argued that they are not a cable service and therefore are not subject to the provisions of the Cable Act.

SEATOA would like to encourage all of its members to ask your representatives to support the CAP Act and to become co-sponsors of the legislation. Currently there are 13 co-sponsors, but strong bi-partisan support would be the most effective means of getting this legislation passed. Please contact our sister organization – the Alliance for Community Media at www.alliancecm.org for additional details regarding the CAP Act – as well as sample letters to send to your Congressional representatives. And be sure to let SEATOA know at seatoa@carolina.rr.com if you have successfully secured Congressional support for the bill.


		P-E-G Issues
Home SEATOA Bylaws Join SEATOA Members Conference Executive Committee NATOA P-E-G Issues Policy Issues Contact Us Links		SEATOA Supports Public – Educational – Government (P-E-G) Access Channels SEATOA believes our local Public, Education and Government (PEG) cable access channels serve critical community purposes, such as life-time learning, worker training, conveying emergency information, and keeping the community in touch with itself, its educational institutions and its elected officials. New state cable laws are slowly dismantling these channels, by closing off funding and failing to penalize cable operators who refuse to provide required PEG channels, or who are illegally removing these channels from the federally-mandated lowest priced, basic tier of cable services. Some companies are designing their video network to degrade the quality of PEG channels via a web-like, sub-menu format. SEATOA feels Federal intervention is necessary to arrest this loss of an important community resource, a resource allocated to local communities under federal law - the 1984 Cable Act. Update 1/11/2012 REVENUE PAID FOR EACH PEG CHANNEL CERTIFIED FOR 2012 The North Carolina Department of Revenue has posted the documentation of the revenue paid for each PEG channel certified for the 2012 fiscal year. The documents may be found listed under the heading of: "Video Programming Distribution" at www.dornc.com/publications/reimbursement.html Update 5/15/2011 CAP ACT INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS – NOW WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! On Thursday, May 5th, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), on behalf of herself and Congressman Steven LaTourette (R-OH), introduced the Community Access Preservation Act (the CAP Act - H.R. 1746) – link to the bill H.R. 1746 The CAP Act SEATOA and NATOA are proud to have been a part of the consortium of interested groups who joined with American Community Television (ACT) in their efforts to introduce this legislation. But it is just the beginning! Now we need every one of you to contact your Representatives and ask them to support H.R. 1746, the CAP Act. You can look up your Representative's phone number here Directory of the House of Representatives or you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the office by name. Talking points on this legislation are available on ACT’s website via this link CAP Act Talking Points Community Access agencies need to get their users involved. Whether it's the police department, the fire department, educational organizations, nonprofits, religious groups or individuals, we need to have the people who use Public-Educational-Government (PEG) access channels to call their Congressional Representatives and let them know they support PEG access television. As ACT Board member Kathie Pohl stated in the press release from Baldwin and LaTourette's offices: "I'm very excited that Congressman LaTourette is co-sponsoring this bill," said Kathie Pohl, Director of Marketing & Community Relations, City of Mentor, OH. "This benefits the entire community because it will mean that the city, schools and public access centers can continue to be used to inform the general public the way they were intended. But it also relieves a great financial burden on those cities that must pay to have their 'public' channels carried on the cable system. This deserves the full support of Congress," Pohl said. Mary Cardona of the Wisconsin Association of PEG channels was also quoted in that release: "Decisions at the state and federal level have combined to create a crisis for PEG. With the CAP Act, Reps. Baldwin and LaTourette effectively address the most immediate problems and open the door to the future by preserving support for PEG while the FCC conducts its study. This bill is critical to us. Wisconsin's rich community access heritage is on the line," said Mary Cardona, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Association of PEG Channels. SEATOA FINDINGS ON GEORGIA PEG PROGRAMMING REQUIREMENTS By request of SEATOA members from Georgia, SEATOA recently formulated an analysis of Georgia’s Consumer Choice for Television Act in regard to programming requirements for public, educational and government (PEG) channels under the provisions of the law. Concerns were raised that the Consumer Choice for Television Act places programming requirements on existing PEG channels in terms of the number of required program hours and restrictions on duplicative programming. After careful review SEATOA finds that the programming requirements specified in 36-76-8 only apply to newly formed PEG channels as part of the PEG development period specified in the law. 36-76-4(g) clearly states in paragraph 5: (5) Notwithstanding a termination of a local franchise pursuant to this subsection, a municipality or county shall be entitled to operate its existing PEG channel or channels, as such existed on January 1, 2007, relating to the number of channels and the usage criteria for such channels under the same terms as the terminated local franchise had it not been terminated, pursuant to this subsection, until July 1, 2012. The 12 month development period for PEG channels set forth in subsection (a) of Code Section 36-76-8 shall not apply to existing PEG channels operating under the entitlement provisions of this subsection. Moreover, 36-76-8(g) paragraph 6 states the following: (6) The 12 month development period for PEG channels set forth in subsection (a) of Code Section 36-76-8 shall not apply to channels being operated at the time that any holder of a state franchise adopts or renews a state franchise after July 1, 2012. Therefore, SEATOA finds that PEG channels already activated as of January 1, 2007 may continue to operate under the terms of the original franchise even if such a franchise has been terminated by the cable operator and replaced with a state issued franchise. Communities wishing to establish PEG channels not already activated as of January 1, 2007 are subject to the PEG development period requirements as stated in 36-76-8. TIME TO CONTACT NEW FEDERAL & STATE REPS As indicated in SEATOA Monthly Updates the November elections brought major modifications in both federal and state representation in our member states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The committees that address our issues will be changing. The leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives will certainly change and the ratios of the committees will change (i.e. numbers of Republicans, numbers of Democrats). SEATOA is working with associate agencies, including American Community Television (ACT) and NATOA to encourage our community members to build relationships with your Congressional Representatives, through both district and D.C. visits. ACT has developed Tips for a Productive Legislative Visit so that you can utilize these tips before you make your legislative visit and share them with others who want to visit their legislators. Tell your federal representatives about the CAP Act and ask them to support PEG-related legislation in the 112th Congress. Your visit will be one more re-enforcement for protecting community media. In addition to work at the federal level, please let SEATOA know how we can help you at the state level. Your input will enable us to focus in on the key issues which will need to be addressed in our individual states during the next few years. We are here to provide you with the resources and assistance you need to deal with issues that may arise in your state. Just e-mail us at seatoa@carolina.rr.com SEATOA member’s state legislatures – Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – all have new members that will need to be educated on the issues important to PEG operations and keeping community media alive and thriving. Our friends at ACT have developed a State Legislative Sessions Calendar to assist in planning meetings with state representatives. CONGRATS TO NATOA PROGRAMMING AWARD WINNERS Congratulations to these SEATOA-region communities for their recent NATOA 2010 Government Programming Awards: Category: Interview/Talk Show – Operating Budget Under $200,000 -Total Entries: 8 First Place: "Talk of the Town" – City of Winder, GA Category: Profile of a City/County Dept. – Operating Budget Under $200,000 -Total Entries: 9 Second Place:"Murfreesboro Police Department Recruitment Video" – City of Murfreesboro, TN Honorable Mention: "Murfreesboro Municipal Airport" – City of Murfreesboro, TN Category: Public Safety – Operating Budget $200,000 - $400,000 - Total Entries: 6 Second Place: "2009 Flood" – Gwinnett County, GA Category: Public Service Announcement – Operating Budget Under $200,000 - Total Entries: 12 Second Place: "Webstreaming Services" – City of Murfreesboro, TN Category: Use of Humor - Total Entries: 12 Honorable Mention: "Webstreaming Services" – City of Murfreesboro, TN There is no recess in support of PEG! While our Congressional representatives are back in their states and districts it is time to contact them in support of PEG. NATOA Executive Director/General Counsel Steve Traylor and our partner organization American Community Television’s Executive Director Bunnie Riedel met House Energy and Commerce Committee and staffers from the majority offices of the Committee to discuss the CAP Act. Although we would like a hearing on the CAP Act - tight schedules and the election season mean chances of it may have to be put off until the Committee returns in January. Our representatives emphasized the harm that has been done to PEG access television as a result of the statewide/state issued franchising laws and the harm that will come. They have developed a new talking points sheet called "An Industry Wide Effort" which shows that the harms to PEG aren't just from one or two cable operators, but indeed across the board. You can access those talking points at the ACT website http://www.acommunitytv.org/ In our advocacy efforts, we must be very clear that supporting PEG and the CAP Act is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue or a Libertarian issue or an Independent issue. It is about localism, information and transparency. It's about education, arts and community organizations. It's about one of the fundamental constitutional guarantees of our nation - free speech. SEATOA is supporting NATOA and ACT in preparation for a meeting later in September to develop a strategy in support of PEG by reaching out to religious, minority and civic organizations to form a coalition to support the CAP Act and other positive PEG legislation. ACT has a sample petition available at its website for securing signatures from the producers, organizations and religious groups that use your channel. If you can gather signatures now, we can build a base of support for positive legislation that will support PEG access television. Go to: Sample Petition for PEG SEATOA ACTIONS HELP DOUBLE NC PEG SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING In early May, the North Carolina Senate Finance Committee received a report from the NC Department of Revenue (NCDOR) regarding the performance of the 2006 Video Services Competition Act (VSCA) as required by State law. The NCDOR reported that revenue from the telecommunications sales tax established by the VSCA had generated more funds than originally anticipated and that local governments were realizing greater revenues from the sales tax. At the hearing regarding this issue, Senator Daniel Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg) stated that since there were additional revenues available from the sales tax, consideration should be given to using some of those funds for increased support of the Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Access Channels operating in NC communities. Under VSCA, the original PEG supplemental fund disbursements were capped at $2 million. And these funds were to be equally divided among the State's estimated 80 PEG channels – thus insuring the supplemental support amount of $25,000 for each channel annually. However, the State had underestimated the number of PEG channels and state-certified channels totaled more than 100 when the final numbers were reported to the NCDOR. Therefore, each channel’s supplemental funding was cut from $25,000 to approximately $15,000 annually. Through the work of SEATOA – following up on Senator Clodfelter's assertion that consideration should be given to raising the PEG supplemental fund – NC State Representative Angela Bryant (D-Nash) introduced a measure which increased NC’s PEG supplemental fund from $2 million to $4 million beginning in July 2011. The measure was adopted as part of a 911 Funding Bill – with no vocal opposition. SEATOA would like to thank Representative Bryant for introducing the additional measure regarding PEG funding, and Senator Clodfelter for shepherding it through the Senate. Special thanks goes out to SEATOA President Catharine Rice for pushing this measure in Raleigh and to all PEG advocates throughout the state for keeping the pressure on our elected officials to continue to support PEG in North Carolina. THE FUTURE OF MEDIA As most of you are probably aware, the FCC recently released its National Broadband Plan laying out a framework to insure broadband accessibility to all Americans. In addition to this ambitious plan, the FCC also recently held a hearing on the future of media and took testimony from all parts of the media industry. As part of its study of the future of media, the FCC invited comments from individuals and organizations as to where they believe media should be headed in years to come. Of course, SEATOA, and our national organization NATOA, believe that PEG access is an integral part of the future of media in this country. Given the continuing consolidation of the mass media, fewer and fewer large corporations are controlling what Americans see and hear. PEG channels insure that local communities have a vehicle to communicate local information and programming which are not available anywhere else. NATOA filed very strong comments regarding PEG's role in the future of media. We invite all of you to read them by clicking on the link below, and we thank NATOA's President, Ken Fellman for his strong support of PEG as evidenced by NATOA's comments. Link to NATOA’S full comments here HELP PASS THE FEDERAL COMMUNITY ACCESS PRESERVATION ACT SEATOA believes passage of the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act is vital – for the reasons stated below – and encourages you to contact your federal representatives to ask them to both co-sponsor the bill and vote in favor of its passage. Although the CAP Act does not address all issues regarding PEG, it is an excellent first step in insuring the long-term health and viability of PEG. Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) recently introduced the CAP Act to address some of the most pressing issues facing PEG channels as a result of the passage of statewide cable franchising bills in more than 20 states and unfavorable rulings regarding PEG by the FCC. The CAP Act - while it does not resolve all of the issues effecting communities’ abilities to continue to provide vital PEG services to their citizens - does address four key areas of importance. 1. The CAP Act would amend the Cable Act to insure that PEG support fees could be used for any PEG purpose. The bill addresses the FCC's ruling that PEG support negotiated in cable franchises - in addition to the franchise fee permitted under the Cable Act of 1984 – may only be used for facilities and equipment and not for PEG operations. This ruling has crippled the ability of many PEG operators, who depend on negotiated support in local franchises, to continue to provide valuable PEG services to their communities. 2. The CAP Act reaffirms Congressional intent to provide PEG on the lowest cable tier and requires cable providers to treat PEG channels in the same manner as all other local commercial channels. Many cable providers are now discriminating against PEG channels in the manner in which these channels are provided and in the placement of these channels on their systems. With the emergence of digital and internet technologies, cable providers have attempted to relegate PEG to the outer reaches of their digital tiers This is vividly illustrated by Comcast's decision to move PEG channels in Michigan to the 900 series of channels – and by AT&T's introduction of their U-Verse system which bundles all PEG channels in a given region onto one single channel (99) and requires viewers to use a complicated menu system to watch their desired PEG channel. Historically, cable operators have provided PEG channels, in the same manner as local commercial channels, to all subscribers, and without any additional charges. Recently this long-established practice has been abandoned by many cable providers who are now providing PEG in a less accessible, lower quality and more expensive manner to their subscribers. The clear intent of Congress under the Cable Act is to require that PEG be provided to all subscribers on the least expensive and most accessible tier of service, and that PEG channels be treated in the same manner as all other local commercial channels. 3. The CAP Act requires the FCC to study the effect of statewide franchising legislation on PEG and to report its findings to Congress. It also requires cable operators to continue to support PEG at the level required in each state franchising bill, or at the historical level of support they were required to provide PEG prior to state franchising, whichever is greater. 4. The CAP Act clarifies that any provider using a wired system and using public rights-of-way to deliver their service are indeed subject to the rules under the Cable Act. The CAP Act amends the Cable Act to make it technology neutral, so that any provider offering cable service, through a wired system using public rights-of-way are subject to all rules under the Cable Act. Some providers, for example, those using Internet Protocol, have argued that they are not a cable service and therefore are not subject to the provisions of the Cable Act. SEATOA would like to encourage all of its members to ask your representatives to support the CAP Act and to become co-sponsors of the legislation. Currently there are 13 co-sponsors, but strong bi-partisan support would be the most effective means of getting this legislation passed. Please contact our sister organization – the Alliance for Community Media at www.alliancecm.org for additional details regarding the CAP Act – as well as sample letters to send to your Congressional representatives. And be sure to let SEATOA know at seatoa@carolina.rr.com if you have successfully secured Congressional support for the bill. P-E-G Programming Issues Update: