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HomeMy WebLinkAbout028445 ORD - 12/15/2009As Amended on 1st Reading AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, CHAPTER 55 REGARDING PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES, TO RENUMBER SUBSECTIONS; REVISING AND UPDATING SUBSECTION 1 RULES FOR PARTICIPATION, SUBSECTION 2 TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS, SUBSECTION 3 HOW PROGRAMS ARE SCHEDULED AND CABLECAST, SUBSECTION 4 DEFINED TERMS, SUBSECTION 5 AMENDMENTS TO RULES, SUBSECTION 6 VIOLATIONS OF RULES, PROVIDING FOR SEVERANCE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF FEBRUARY 1, 2010. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS: SECTION 1. The Rules and Procedures for Public Access Cablecasting found at Article XVIII of Chapter 55 of the Corpus Christi Code of Ordinances, are amended to read as follows: "Section 55-443. RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC ACCESS CABLECASTING. Channel space on public access channels is available free of charge to any adult resident of the City of Corpus Christi in accordance with the following rules and procedures, as adopted by the City Council of the City of Corpus Christi. Submitted programs on accepted media, as defined in cection /1 Section 55-447, will be cablecast by all franchised cable operators as provided in their respective franchises. Requests for live feeds may be made in accordance with rules adopted by the Cable Communications Commission, with the consent of the cable operators. These rules may be amended by City Council following recommendation from the Cable Communications Commission and franchised cable operators in the City of Corpus Christi. § 1 Section 55-444. Rules for participation. Producers must complete and sign an programming contract Application for Public Access Cablecasting.- In By signing the = = - • •• •• • = : - application, the producer warrants states and agrees that the following rules will be observed: (a) = All programs must be produced by a producer as defined in section /1 Section 55-447. i . .. •• ..•• •• shall be of a commercial nature as defined in Section 55-447. 844.5 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC No program 2 (c) = No program shall be transmitted that requests contributions unless the solicitation is on behalf of an organization that has received tax exempt status under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or non-profit status in the state of Texas. Maximum time to request contributions in a program is five minutes. (d) _ No program shall be transmitted that contains copyrighted information for which proper clearance or authorization has not been obtained. No program shall be transmitted that contains copyrighted material for which proper written clearance or authorization has not been obtained prior to being submitted for broadcast. (e)• No program shall be transmitted that portrays any criminal act as being acceptable or condoned behavior. (f) = No program shall be transmitted which contains obscene or indecent material. f.glg All programs must include proper program identification as defined in section -4. Section 55-447. (h) = All programs must be locally produced. In order to be classified as a locally produced program, the program must contain at least 25 per -cent locally produced original content. (i) Producer must maintain current home and mailing address with PAUG and notify PAUG of change within ten (10) working days of move. Except as otherwise permitted by applicable law, neither the access user group PAUG nor the cable operators will restrict the content of any program. § 2 Section 55-445 Technical standards and production requirements. (a) Programs submitted for cablecast must conform to the technical standards and production requirements established for cablecast by the FCC and City of Corpus Christi Public Access Rules. The programs shall not cause the cable operator to be out of compliance with any applicable FCC Technical Standards. (b) Quality: Programs must deliver, in good quality, clear audio and video throughout the entire length of the program. (c) Format: 'Ma. Producers must transfer all other formats to 1/2" VHS (SP speed) tapes, Super VHS tapes, Consumer DV tape, video CD, or DVD for programming to accepted media as defined by Section 55-447(a). H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 3 (2) b. All tapes must be rewound to beginning of tape. (3)s. As new technology changes and formats become more conventional common in the consumer markets, formats may be changed to reflect current market use. The decision to add or delete formats will be made by the Cable Communications Commission based upon a request from an accccs user group PAUG and/or the cable operator(s). cfkLabeling: All producers must clearly label accepted their media as follows: (1) On face of the accepted media: a. Title of the program as it appears on the application. b. Production date. (2) On face of acceptcd media and sleeve, box or case or sleeve of accepted media: a. Name of individual producer as it appears on the application. b. Producer's telephone number and/or e-mail address. c. Length of program. d. Title of the program as it appears on the producer's application. (2) On the spine of the tape (only for grandfathered programs): a. Title of the program as it appears on the producer's application. (e) Identification: a . e e e a(1) . Programs must include the program identification as defined in section /I Section 55-447. ff Length: a(1). All one-hour programs must be 60 minutes in length, including the program identification. b (2). All half-hour programs must be 30 minutes in length, including the program identification. s.(3) Occasional programming beyond 60 minutes (such as high school sporting events) may be included pursuant to rules established by the Cable Communications Commission with consent of the cable operators. H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 4 (4). Only one program may be recorded on each media submitted. (q) Deadline: Programs on accepted media must be delivered to and picked up from the cable operators before 11:30 a.m. on the Wednesdays prior to the cablecast scheduled cablecast that begins the following Sunday. Holidays may require deadline adjustments. (h) A weekly log of the schedule list that indicates delivery of media by the producers will be provided to the cable operator each week when the media is delivered to the Cable Operator. § 3 Section 55-446 How programs are scheduled and cablecast. (a) Franchised cable operators provide playback of public access programming according to the schedule provided by the PAUG. (b) The PAUG receives and schedules programming submitted by series and occasional producers. and The PAUG must provides schedules to cable operators and to the Cable Communications Commmission whenever changes are made. (c) Public access for series producers. The PAUG for each channel conducts a biannual public access time slot lottery for each public access channel according to the rules and procedures, and uses those results to develop a public access schedule for each that channel. Schedules may be modified as necessary. . PAUGS will provide schedules to lotteries as they are modified. (d) Time slots: Series programs are given a regular weekly or monthly time slot. Time slots are awarded during the semi-annual time slot lottery. Conflicts on Commission for arbitration. (e) Each producer may have only one series, not to exceed one hour per week, 3, Lotteries and Schedules. (f) Only programs created by a producers, as defined in cection 1 section 55-447, are eligible to participate in the semi-annual lotteries and are --eligible to be transmitted as a public access program. (g) Application: No later than the night time of the bi-annual time slot lottery each producer must submit a completed public access cablecasting application form approved by the Cable Communications Commission to their respective access users group PAUG bBoard of dDirectors. If either home or mailing address should change for any reason, producer shall H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 5 update within ten (10) working days of change in address, with the correct home and mailing address. Failure to comply can be grounds for removal from the Public Access Channels by the Cable Communications Commission for the remainder of the lottery period. (h) The PAUG Board of Directors will provide copies of applications to the Cable Operators and to the Cable Communications Commission no later than two weeks after the time slot lottery is conducted. (1) Access channel (10 or 18) (Note: An individual producer must select one channel for cablecasting of both first -run and repeat showings. Programs cannot be run on both channels.) jiLLotteries and schedules: There are two lottery periods. The spring lottery period begins the first Sunday in June through the day preceding the first Sunday in December. The fall lottery period begins the first Sunday in December through the day preceding the first Sunday in June. (k) Producers will attend the time slot lottery as noted in a: (1) and la, (2) below. Two Cable Communications Commissioners who are not producers for the PAUG conducting the lottery will attend each lottery. _Lotteries will be conducted as follows: a.(1) The spring lottery is conducted in the last seven days of April with the new time slots actually beginning on the first Sunday in June. The PAUG Board of Directors shall determine the day and time of the lottery. b7(2) The fall lottery is conducted in the last seven days of October with the new time slots actually beginning on the first Sunday in December, The PAUG Board of Directors shall determine the day and time of the lottery. (3) The public access time schedule will be broken into 30 -minute intervals. (4) Each producer w i4l draw a selection n'rtumber randomly, with the lowest issued. Each producer will randomly draw a lottery number. (5) The selection numbers will be determined by random selection. The lowest number will have the first choice of time slots and continuing until all numbers drawn have picked their first time slot. time slot. (6) After all producers have selected time slots for their first -run shows, producers of weekly programs requesting a repeat showing will then select their time slots for one repeat cablecast in same or reverse order as the initial time slots were selected, not to exceed one repeat per show. Only one repeat is H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 6 permitted. A program may be cablecast as an original and repeated twice once in the same lottery period in the producer's allotted time slot, but not in consecutive weeks or months (back-to-back). A program may be cablecast as an original and be repeated once in subsequent lottery periods. (8) (7) Producers of monthly programs will have one original cablecast and three repeats to be repeated each week in the same allotted time slot for the remainder of the month. c\lch month. (9) (8) One lottery will be executed for Channel 10 by the Channel 10 access user group PAUG and one lottery executed for Channel 18 by the Channel 18 PAUG. Public access for occasional producers. Single time slots of lengths as noted above in section 2, 55-445 Length, will be available for occasional producers on a first-come, first-served basis. Occasional producers must complete a public access cablecasting application no later than two -weeks prior to the desired cablecasting date and comply with all rules set forth herein. (m) First-come, first-served is determined upon receipt of completed application by the PAUG secretary member of PAUG Board of Directors. (n) No programs will be scheduled during holidays, unless automated programming allows as determined by cable operator. 4-4 Section 55-447 Defined terms. (a) Accepted Media -- A recorded program on accepted media produced by a public access producer and submitted for cablecasting on public access channels. The term "accepted media" refers to 1/2" VHS (SP Speed), Super .(1) Audio video CD MPEG-2 (with playback standard screen size 720 x 480 and 60 fields per second, audio level 3). (2) DVD + R MPEG-2 (with playback standard screen size 720 x 480 and 60 fields per second, audio level 3). Producers grandfathered by the Cable Communications Commission via Resolution approved July 21, 2008 are exempt from this provision, and may continue to submit programs in same formats they were using as of July 1, 2008. Any grandfathered producer that ceases to submit programming for minimum of ninety (90) days loses grandfather status. (b) Cable Communications Commission -- The Cable Communications Commission consists of five residents of the city appointed by the City Council. The Cable Communications Commission administers the process for complaints regarding the Rules and Procedures for Public Access Cablecasting. The Cable Communications Commission mediates any disputes brought to it by the PAUG. 1 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 7 (c) Commercial programming — (1) Any programming which is cablecast for remuneration of any kind, whether directly or indirectly, or programming which includes, in whole or in part, content whether audio, video or text intended, directly or indirectly to promote any commercial business service; or product is prohibited; or (2) Any programming which includes commercial advertising of any kind; or that contains lottery or sweepstakes information. The Cable Communications Commission has established approved a memo that establishes guidelines concerning the advertisement of commercial products or services in ars public access program. (d) Complaints -- Communication to the Cable Communications Commission regarding violation of Rules and Procedures for Public Access Cablecasting. Office or through an online form at www.cctcxas.com/ccc/complaint. (e) Holidays -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, and New Year's Day. (f) Locally produced programming -- means Christi region by producers as defined in this section programming created in the Corpus Christi region, or pertaining to locally specific issues, or pertaining to local residents.. (g) Producer -- Any resident of Corpus Christi, 18 years of age or older, who has proof of residency which must include a local street residence address, a local contact telephone number and valid identification (such as a driver's license). A producer must pay any fees required by the access user group PAUG and must execute an approved program contract application form. A producer, by way of definition, is an individual who meets the above stated requirements and participates in or is responsible for the creation of a local, non commercial program for the public access channels. If the local, non commercial program is created by a local organization, such as a church, one person who meets the above requirements must be designated as the producer and will represent the organization with the access user group PAUG. For identification purposes, this person's name will appear on program identification, either video or audio, and printed on labels. (h) Program identification -- The tag at the beginning of the program must bear the producer name, and title of program as it appears on the producer application and the production date. The tag must appear for at least ten seconds, in the audio or video at the beginning of each program, or within the first 30 seconds. A tag at the end of the program is optional. H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v10 December9, 2009.DOC 8 (i) Public access channel (sometimes herein "channel") -- This is the cable television channel or channels on which public access programs are cablecastT currently Channels 10 and 18. (j) Public access time allocated schedule -- The block of time slots allocated to each public access channel that are available and ace allocated by lottery during the semi-annual time slot renewal period. The block of time will be determined by each PAUG by calculating the number of producers and programming hours for all shows including repeats. The intent is to develop a block of time slots that provide for consecutive programming, without gaps in the programming schedule. (k) Public Access User Group (PAUG) -- As set forth in the City Code of Ordinances, section 2-183, membership of the access user group PAUG may be composed of any individuals who ace is a residents of the city as well as representatives of community, public interest, or neighborhood groups.; Nnotwithstanding any other provision, representatives of the cable operator may be members of the access user group PAUG. Access user groups PAUGs are organized separately and independently from the city and are not boards, commissions, committees or any other subdivision of the city. Each public access channel must establish an access user group a PAUG. All user groups, PAUGs by application to the Cable Communications Commission and the City Secretary, must be certified by the Cable Communications Commission. Producers organize themselves according to by-laws by-laws, electing among themselves officers and a bBoard of directors. Each producer present is entitled to vote on all matters pertaining to establishment of asscvs user group PAUG by-laws and election of officers. (1) Repeat program -- A program which was previously aired on any public access channel during the same lottery period. Semi annual time slot renewal period A period beginning April and October of months must submit an application. (m) Series -- A locally produced public access show from a single producer. A series can be either weekly or monthly. § 5 Section 55-448 Amendments to rules and procedures for public access cablecasting. These rules may be amended by City Council following recommendation from the Cable Communications Commission or City franchised cable operators in the city. The city shall give any City franchised cable operator 60 days' written notice of any proposed amendment to the rules and procedures for public access cablecasting. In the event that a cable operator objects in writing, the city and the cable operator shall thereafter meet and negotiate an amendment reasonably 1 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 9 acceptable to all parties. In no event shall any amendment imposing greater obligations or restricting the rights of any cable operator become effective without the written consent of that cable operator. 4-6 Section 55-449 Violation of rules. (a) Producers must follow all Rules and Procedures for Public Access Cablecasting. (1) If a producer and series has been removed for violations, that producer and series may not air as an occasional user during the removal period. (2) A producer may appeal decisions of the Cable Communications Commission to the City Council by submitting a sworn written notice of appeal to the City Secretary within 30 days of the rendition of the Commission decision. a,(b) Violations of Section 1 Section 55-444. (1) No program will be permitted to air over the public access channels if a producer or program violates has violated one or more of the rules identified in section 1 section 55-444. (2) It shall be the responsibility of the PAUG Board of Directors to periodically monitor the programs that are aired on Public Access Television and to report any and all section 55-444 violations that are observed, to the Cable Communications Commission, using the appropriate form and procedures set forth herein. (3) Complaints about violations of Section 1 Section 55-444 rules must be submitted to the Cable Communications Commission. Complaints must be submitted to the Commission in writing to the City Secretary's Office or through an online form at www.cctexas.com/ccc/complaint. informed of the Cable Communications Commission meeting schedule. (4) Producers atse-will receive written notice of the complaint, dates of the next two Commission meetings, and a statement that failure to attend, or send a representative, or provide a written statement of explanation will result in forfeiture of their time slots and the use of the public access channels use for 60 days. (5) AlsoT pProducers will be informed in writing that three section 1 section 55-444 violations within a six-month period will result in forfeiture of their time slots and the use of the public access channels public access channel use for 60 days. (6) If a section 1 section 55-444 violation is evident, that program media will be removed from airing and from repeat showing, and the media will be turned over 1 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 10 to the Cable Communications Commission by the PAUG Board of Directors or cable operator for review and discussion with the producer at one of the next two scheduled Commission meetings. Producers must take corrective action on any programs with rule violations before they can be submitted as a second original or repeat. Upon notification of a complaint, the producer, or a representative, Commission meetings to discuss the violation. for three section 1 violations during a six month period. Lcib- Forfeit of Use of Public Access Channels (1) Lottery periods begin the first Sunday in June and in December. At the lottery, PAUGs will establish a designated location for producers to deliver weekly and monthly media. (A) Media for the first program in a lottery period must be delivered to the designated location before 10:00 a.m. on the Wednesday before the first Sunday in the new lottery period. (B) Following the first media delivery of the lottery period, cut-off time for delivery of media for weekly programs is 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays each week. (C) Cut-off time for delivery of media for monthly programs is 10:00 a.m. on the Wednesday before the first Sunday of each month. (2) PAUGs will maintain a schedule list that indicates delivery of medias by producers. A monthly log of these this schedules will be submitted to the Cable Communications Commission by noon on the second Monday within the first seven days of each month. Included with the list will be a cover letter that lists the producers of weekly programs that failed to supply media for airing for four (4) consecutive weeks and producers of monthly programs that failed to supply media for airing for two (2) consecutive months. City staff will then send written notification to the producers who forfeit the use of the public access channels for failure to submit media. This notification will include the date of the next scheduled Cable Communications Commission meeting, at which time the producer may appeal the Commission's decision. The producer or a designated representative must appear at the next Commission meeting or provide a written statement of explanation for their appeal to be reviewed. The Cable Communications Commission will review the monthly delivery logs at each Cable Communications Commission meeting and decide whether or not to remove producers who failed to submit media as required.. H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 11 (3) If a series producer fails to supply media on time for a weekly or monthly program, that program and series will not be aired that week or month. _No late media will be accepted. Individual producers shall not deliver media to the cable operator. (4) If a weekly series producer fails to supply media by the established time for four consecutive weeks, that producer and series will forfeit the use of his/her time slots and the use of the public access channels access channels for the remainder of that lottery period sixty days or until the end of lottery period whichever is longer. If a monthly series producer fails to supply media on time for two consecutive months, that producer and series will forfeit the use of his/her time slots and the use of the public access channels public access channels for the remainder of that lottery peried six months. of -the -next scheduled Commission meeting, at which time the producer may appeal the Commission decision. Producers or a designated representative must • to be reviewed. e; (d) Violations of Section 2 55-445 Violations Franchised cable operators may submit complaints for violations of Section 2 55- 445 violations to the Cable Communications Commission to be placed on the Commission meeting agenda for discussion. d(e) . Violations of Section 3 55-446 Violations Complaints for violations of Section 3 55-446 violations may be submitted to the Cable Communications Commission. The Commission will notify the appropriate PAUG of any complaints and schedule a discussion with the PAUG president and the complaining party at the next scheduled Commission meeting._ et0_ Complaints about Cable Operators If a producer or the PAUG Board of Directors has a complaint regarding a Cable Operator, that complaint shall be submitted in writing, within five (5) working days, from a producer to the PAUG Board of Directors and then from the PAUG Board of Directors to the Cable Operator, with a copy to the Cable Communications Commission, within five (5) working days. The Cable Operator 1 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC 12 shall respond in writing to the PAUG Board of Directors, with a copy to the Cable Communications Commission, within five (5) working days. If a complaint is not resolved, the producer or the PAUG Board of Directors shall submit the complaint in writing to the Cable Communications Commission, and the item shall be placed on the agenda for discussion at the next scheduled Cable Communications Commission meeting." SECTION 2. If for any reason any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase, word or provision of this ordinance shall be held invalid or unconstitutional by final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect any other section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase, word, or provision of this ordinance, for it is the definite intent of this City Council that every section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase, word or provision of this ordinance be given full force and effect for its purpose. SECTION 3. Publication shall be made in the official publication of the City of Corpus Christi as required by the City Charter of the City of Corpus Christi. SECTION 4. This ordinance takes effect on February 1, 2010. 1 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC That the foregoing ordinapce was re reading on this the day of Joe Adame Chris N. Adler Brent Chesney Larry Elizondo, Sr. Kevin Kieschnick for the first time and passed to its second , 2009, by the following vote: Priscilla G. Leal John E. Marez Nelda Martinez Mark Scott That the.regoing ordin nce was read for the second time and passed finally on this the jbTh_ day of - � ..(�,t , 2009, by the following vote: Joe Adame Chris N. Adler Brent Chesney Larry Elizondo, Sr. Kevin Kieschnick _��� PASSED AND APPROVED, this the /�4-1" day of , C' , 2009. ATTES Priscilla G. Leal John E. Marez Nelda Martinez Mark Scott Armando Chapa City Secretary APPROVED as to form: December 2, 2009 By: o�..�/Y`r Lisa Aguilar, Interim Attorney Joe Adame Mayor 28445 EFFECTIVE DATE kWkt f)o10 13 1 H:\LEG-DIR\Lisa\2009 Ordinance\PUBLIC ACCESS RULES AND PROCEDURES v9 December 2, 2009.DOC State of Texas County of Nueces } } PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI Ad # 5927269 PO# Before me, the undersigned, a Notary Public, this day personally came JENNIFER HOBBS, who being first duly sworn, according to law, says that she is LEGAL SALES REPRESENTITIVE AND EMPLOYEE OF THE PUBLISHER, namely, the Corpus Christi Caller -Times, a daily newspaper published at Corpus Christi in said City and State, generally circulated in Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria and Webb Counties, and that the publication of, NOTICE OF PASSAGE OF ORDINANCE NO. 02844 which the annexed is a true copy, was inserted in the Corpus Christi Caller -Times on the 12/21/2009,12/21/2009. $ 122.94 1Time(s) LE S R PRESENTIVE On thisNW `day of I certify that the attached document is a true and an exact copy made by publisher. GWENN J. MEDINA MY COMMISSION EXPIRES Aupuet 2 2017 otary Public, State of Texas 4E li December 21, 2009 * CALLER TIMES; NOTICE OF PASSAGE OF ORDINANCE NO. 028445 Amending the Code of Ordinances, City of Corpus Christi, Chap- ter 55 Regarding Public Access Rules and Procedures, to renumber subsec- tions; revisingand updating Subsection 1 Rules for Participa-' tion, Subsection 2 Technical Standards and Production Re- quirements, Subsection 3 Itow Programs are Sched- uled and Cablecast, Subsection 4 Defined Terms, Subsections Amendments to Rules, Subsection 6 j Violations of Rules,;'. providing for publica- tion; and providing an effective date of Feb- ruary 1, 2010. is/Armando Chap City Secretar_ City of Corpus Christ