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• This bill would cap, and in numerous cases, reduce or eliminate the number of <br />channels devoted to public, educational and government programming and remove <br />local govemment enforcement authority to ensure that channels devoted to public <br />educational and government programming, and institutional networks used for <br />municipal and public safety purposes, are allocated and operated.. <br />• BITS II would eliminate current grant and capital funding for public, educational <br />and government channels, ultimately having the effect of cutting back or <br />eliminating valuable channels for community residents, their schools and their <br />government to communicate about issues not addressed by mainstream media.. <br />• The bill would reduce cable franchise fees 10%-20%, by limiting gross revenues <br />to subscriber fees.. This would force cutbacks in local funding of public safety <br />personnel, infrastructure maintenance and other local projects that directly benefit <br />local residents. It removes local governments' auditing authority to ensure <br />franchise fees are paid in full, <br />• Finally, the bill would eliminate local governments' ability to enforce local public <br />rights-of--way laws, including the authority to relocate lines and facilities, to <br />establish restoration and resurfacing standards, and to limit the frequency of <br />excavation of public streets, and forces any non-compliance to be resolved by the <br />FCC.. Tn essence, this would potentially shut down our local road systems in some <br />cases because it removes our ability to ensure that our roads remain intact and <br />traffic unhindered by cuts made by (often irresponsible) telecommunication <br />subcontractors. <br />Local govemments welcome competition, and it is important to understand that it is not our' local <br />franchising process that has been the barrier to competition. In 1996, Congress granted regulatory <br />relief to the telephone industry based on promises it would compete with the cable industry. <br />Many telephone companies quickly obtained hundreds of franchises in Florida, Ohio, Indiana and <br />Illinois. But soon after, the industry decided it was more prudent to consolidate into mega- <br />regional companies rather than provide competitive alternatives.. <br />The current local franchising process and oversight over local public rights of way is effective <br />and does not need to be changed. The current process provides the truest form of local <br />accountability to American households. <br />Thank you for your time and attention <br />Sincerely, <br />Chair <br />Ce: Sue Myrick (R-NC) <br />230 Cannon House Office Building <br />Washington, D.C. 20515 <br />Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet <br />House Committee on Energy and Commerce <br />