BILL NUMBER: AB 1104 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 8290) to
Chapter 7 of Division 4 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
utility charges. An act to amend Section 53088.2 of
the Government Code, relating to video providers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1104, as amended, Levine. Utility charges: utility
and cable Video provider billing practices.
The existing Video Customer Service Act requires all video
providers, as defined, to render bills that are accurate and
understandable and to provide a minimum of 30 days' written notice
before increasing rates or deleting channels.
This bill would require that a video provider cease billing a
customer for additional services within 7 business days of receiving
a request to terminate service. The bill would provide that if the
customer requests that service be terminated and provides 7 or more
business days notice before the date for termination of service, the
video provider would be required to cease billing the customer for
additional services as of midnight of the last day of service.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
gas corporations, telephone corporations, and water corporations.
Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges
for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges
be just and reasonable. Existing law authorizes the commission, after
a hearing, to require every public utility to construct, maintain,
and operate utility facilities in a manner so as to promote and
safeguard the health and safety of its employees, customers, and the
public. Existing law additionally authorizes the commission, after a
hearing, to require every cable television corporation to construct,
maintain, and operate utility facilities in a manner so as to promote
and safeguard the health and safety of its employees, customers, and
the public.
This bill would require that every utility, for which the
commission has not adopted a general rule or order, or approved a
tariff, specifying the just and reasonable charges that may be made
by the utility when the customer discontinues service, including
electrical corporations, gas corporations, telephone corporations,
telecommunications carriers as defined under federal law, water
corporations, cable television corporations, and cable operators as
defined under federal law, cease billing a customer for additional
services within 7 business days of receiving a request to immediately
discontinue service. The bill would require that where the customer
requests that service be discontinued and provides 7 or more business
days notice before the date for discontinuance of service, the
utility cease billing the customer for additional services as of
midnight of the last day of service.
This bill would authorize a customer of a cable television
corporation or cable operator (cable company) to request that cable
service be discontinued. If the customer is required to return
converters or other equipment upon cable service being discontinued,
the bill would require the cable company to schedule, within 7
business days, an appointment for the cable company to pick up the
equipment. The bill would authorize a cable company to provide the
customer with prepaid mailers or other forms of prepaid shipping
packaging for the return of any equipment in lieu of an appointment.
The customer's liability for cable service would terminate on the
effective day that cable service is discontinued, as specified. The
bill would require that certain information be given to the customer
regarding the customer's return of the equipment and the customer's
liability for charges pending that return.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 6 (commencing with Section 8290) is added to
Chapter 7 of Division 4 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
SECTION 1. Section 53088.2 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
53088.2. (a) Every video provider shall render reasonably
efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only
as necessary.
(b) All video provider personnel contacting subscribers or
potential subscribers outside the office of the provider shall be
clearly identified as associated with the video provider.
(c) At the time of installation, and annually thereafter, all
video providers shall provide to all customers a written notice of
the programming offered, the prices for that programming, the
provider's installation and customer service policies, and the name,
address, and telephone number of the local franchising authority.
(d) All video providers shall have knowledgeable, qualified
company representatives available to respond to customer telephone
inquiries Monday to Friday, inclusive, excluding holidays, during
normal business hours.
(e) All video providers shall provide to customers a toll-free or
local telephone number for installation, and service, and complaint
calls. These calls shall be answered promptly by the video providers.
The city, county, or city and county may establish standards for
what constitutes promptness.
(f) All video providers shall render bills that are accurate and
understandable.
(g) All video providers shall respond to a complete outage in a
customer's service promptly. The response shall occur within 24 hours
of the reporting of the outage to the provider, except in those
situations beyond the reasonable control of the video provider. A
video provider shall be deemed to respond to a complete outage when a
company representative arrives at the outage location within 24
hours and begins to resolve the problem.
(h) All video providers shall provide a minimum of 30 days'
written notice before increasing rates or deleting channels. All
video providers shall make every reasonable effort to submit the
notice to the city, county, or city and county in advance of the
distribution to customers. The 30-day notice is waived if the
increases in rates or deletion of channels were outside the control
of the video provider. In those cases the video provider shall make
reasonable efforts to provide customers with as much notice as
possible.
(i) Every video provider shall allow every residential customer
who pays his or her bill directly to the video provider at least 15
days from the date the bill for services is mailed to the customer,
to pay the listed charges unless otherwise agreed to pursuant to a
residential rental agreement establishing tenancy. Customer payments
shall be posted promptly. No video provider may terminate residential
service for nonpayment of a delinquent account unless the video
provider furnishes notice of the delinquency and impending
termination at least 15 days prior to the proposed termination. The
notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the customer to whom the
service is billed. Notice shall not be mailed until the 16th day
after the date the bill for services was mailed to the customer. The
notice of delinquency and impending termination may be part of a
billing statement. No video provider may assess a late fee any
earlier than the 22nd day after the bill for service has been mailed.
(j) Every notice of termination of service pursuant to subdivision
(i) shall include all of the following information:
(1) The name and address of the customer whose account is
delinquent.
(2) The amount of the delinquency.
(3) The date by which payment is required in order to avoid
termination of service.
(4) The telephone number of a representative of the video provider
who can provide additional information and handle complaints or
initiate an investigation concerning the service and charges in
question.
Service may only be terminated on days in which the customer can
reach a representative of the video provider either in person or by
telephone.
(k) Any service terminated without good cause shall be restored
without charge for the service restoration. Good cause includes, but
is not limited to, failure to pay, payment by check for which there
are insufficient funds, theft of service, abuse of equipment or
system personnel, or other similar subscriber actions.
(l) A video provider shall cease billing a customer for additional
services within seven business days of receiving a request to
terminate service. If the customer requests that service be
terminated and provides seven or more business days notice before the
date for termination of service, the video provider shall cease
billing the customer for additional services as of midnight of the
last day of service.
( l )
(m) All video providers shall issue
requested refund checks promptly, but no later than 45 days following
the resolution of any dispute, and following the return of the
equipment supplied by the video provider, if service is terminated.
(m)
(n) All video providers shall issue security
or customer deposit refund checks promptly, but no later than 45
days following the termination of service, less any deductions
permitted by law.
(n)
(o) Video providers shall not disclose the
name and address of a subscriber for commercial gain to be used in
mailing lists or for other commercial purposes not reasonably related
to the conduct of the businesses of the video providers or their
affiliates, unless the video providers have provided to the
subscriber a notice, separate or included in any other customer
notice, that clearly and conspicuously describes the subscriber's
ability to prohibit the disclosure. Video providers shall provide an
address and telephone number for a local subscriber to use without
toll charge to prevent disclosure of the subscriber's name and
address.
(o)
(p) Disputes concerning the provisions of
this article shall be resolved by the city, county, or city and
county in which the customer resides. For video providers under
Section 53066, the franchising authority shall resolve disputes. All
other video providers shall register with the city in which they
provide service or, where the customers reside in an unincorporated
area, in the county in which they provide service. The registration
shall include the name of the company, its address, its officers,
telephone numbers, and customer service and complaint procedures.
Counties and cities may charge these other video providers operating
in the state a fee to cover the reasonable cost of administering this
division.
(p)
(q) Nothing in this division limits any
power of a city, county, or city and county or video provider to
adopt and enforce service standards and consumer protection standards
that exceed those established in this division.
(q)
(r) The legislative body of the city,
county, or city and county, may, by ordinance, provide a schedule of
penalties for the material breach by a video provider of subdivisions
(a) to (p), inclusive. No monetary penalties shall be assessed for a
material breach if the breach is out of the reasonable control of
the video provider. Further, no monetary penalties may be imposed
prior to the effective date of this section. Any schedule of monetary
penalties adopted pursuant to this section shall in no event exceed
two hundred dollars ($200) for each day of each material breach, not
to exceed six hundred dollars ($600) for each occurrence of material
breach. However, if a material breach of any of subdivisions (a) to
(p), inclusive, has occurred and the city, county, or city and county
has provided notice and a fine or penalty has been assessed, in a
subsequent material breach of the same nature occurring within 12
months, the penalties may be increased by the city, county, or city
and county to a maximum of four hundred dollars ($400) for each day
of each material breach, not to exceed one thousand two hundred
dollars ($1,200) for each occurrence of the material breach. If a
third or further material breach of the same nature occurs within
those same 12 months, and the city, county, or city and county has
provided notice and a fine or penalty has been assessed, the
penalties may be increased to a maximum of one thousand dollars
($1,000) for each day of each material breach, not to exceed three
thousand dollars ($3,000) for each occurrence of the material breach.
With respect to video providers subject to a franchise or license,
any monetary penalties assessed under this section shall be reduced
dollar for dollar to the extent any liquidated damage or penalty
provision of a current cable television ordinance, franchise
contract, or license agreement imposes a monetary obligation upon a
video provider for the same customer service failures, and no other
monetary damages may be assessed. However, this section shall in no
way affect the right of franchising authorities concerning assessment
or renewal of a cable television franchise under the provisions of
the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (47 U.S.C. Sec. 521 et
seq.).
(r)
(s) If the legislative body of a city,
county, or city and county adopts a schedule of monetary penalties
pursuant to subdivision (q), the following procedures shall be
followed:
(1) The city, county, or city and county shall give the video
provider written notice of any alleged material breaches of the
consumer service standards of this division and allow the video
provider at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the
specified breach.
(2) A material breach for the purposes of assessing penalties
shall be deemed to have occurred for each day, following the
expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), that any
material breach has not been remedied by the video provider,
irrespective of the number of customers affected.
(s)
(t) Notwithstanding subdivision (o), or any
other provision of law, this section shall not preclude a party
affected by this section from utilizing any judicial remedy available
to that party without regard to this section. Actions taken by a
local legislative body, including a franchising authority, pursuant
to this section shall not be binding upon a court of law. For this
purpose a court of law may conduct de novo review of any issues
presented.
Article 6. Utility and Cable Billing Practices.
8290. For purposes of this article, a utility shall mean all of
the following:
(a) An electric corporation, as defined in Section 218.
(b) A water corporation, as defined in Section 241.
(c) A telephone corporation, as defined in Section 234.
(d) A telecommunications carrier, as defined in Section 153 of
Title 47 of the United States Code.
(e) A gas corporation, as defined in Section 222.
(f) A cable television corporation, as defined in Section 215.5.
(g) A cable operator, as defined in Section 522 of Title 47 of the
United States Code.
8291. A utility, for which the commission has not adopted a
general rule or order, or approved a tariff, specifying the just and
reasonable charges that may be made by the utility when the customer
discontinues service, shall cease billing a customer for additional
services within seven business days of receiving a request to
immediately discontinue service. Where the customer requests that
service be discontinued and provides seven or more business days
notice before the date for discontinuance of service, the utility
shall cease billing the customer for additional services as of
midnight of the last day of service.
8292. (a) A customer of a cable television corporation, as
defined in Section 215.5, or of a cable operator, as defined in
Section 522 of Title 47 of the United States Code, may request that
service from the cable television corporation or cable operator be
discontinued. If, as a condition for cable service, the customer was
supplied with converters or other equipment and the customer is
required to return the equipment upon cable service being
discontinued, the cable television corporation or cable operator
shall, within seven business days following the customer's request to
discontinue service, schedule an appointment for the cable
television corporation or cable operator or its agent to pick up any
converters or other equipment supplied to the customer by the cable
television corporation or cable operator or its agent. A cable
television corporation or cable operator or its agent may provide the
customer with prepaid mailers or other forms of prepaid shipping
packaging for the return of any converters or other equipment in lieu
of an appointment.
(b) Upon receiving a request from a customer to discontinue cable
service, a cable television corporation or cable operator shall
advise the customer of the right to an appointment within seven
business days, for the cable television corporation or cable operator
or its agent to pick up any converters or other equipment supplied
to the customer by the cable television corporation or cable operator
or its agent. The customer shall additionally be advised of his or
her liability for charges pending the return of any converters or
other equipment. If the cable television corporation or cable
operator or its agent provides the customer with a prepaid mailer or
any other form of prepaid shipping packaging for the return of any
converters or other equipment in lieu of an appointment, the customer
shall be advised of his or her liability for charges pending the
mailing or shipping of any converters or other equipment.
(c) The customer's liability for cable service shall terminate on
the effective day that cable service is discontinued. If, as a
condition for cable service, the customer was supplied with
converters or other equipment and the customer is required to return
the equipment upon cable service being discontinued, the
discontinuation of service is effective upon the earlier of the
following:
(1) The day the customer returns any converters or other equipment
supplied to the customer by the cable television corporation or
cable operator or its agent.
(2) The day of the appointment mutually scheduled between the
cable television corporation or cable operator and the customer, for
the cable television corporation or cable operator or its agent to
pick up any converters or other equipment supplied to the customer by
the cable television corporation or cable operator or its agent, if
the cable television corporation or cable operator is unable to keep
the appointment. If the cable television corporation or cable
operator is unable to keep the appointment, the customer shall be
provided with a credit in an amount equal to the current billing rate
for one month of basic service to which the customer subscribes, and
the television corporation or cable operator shall reschedule a
pickup of the customer's converters or other equipment at the
convenience of the customer.
(3) The day of the appointment mutually scheduled between the
cable television corporation or cable operator and the customer, for
the cable television corporation or operator or its agent to pick up
any converters or other equipment supplied to the customer by the
cable television corporation or cable operator or its agent, if the
customer requests that the appointment be scheduled more than seven
days after the request by the customer to discontinue service.
(4) The day of the appointment mutually rescheduled between the
cable television corporation or cable operator and the customer, for
the cable television corporation or cable operator or its agent to
pick up any converters or other equipment supplied to the customer by
the cable television corporation or cable operator or its agent, if
the customer requests that the appointment be rescheduled.
(5) If the cable television corporation or cable operator or its
agent provides the customer with a prepaid mailer or any other form
of prepaid shipping packaging for the return of any converters or
other equipment, the day the customer mails or ships the converters
and equipment.
(d) The cable television corporation or cable operator shall not
initiate any action against a customer for a failure to return any
converters or other equipment if the cable television corporation or
cable operator has failed to comply with this section.