093_HB2421 LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 AN ACT concerning community antenna television systems. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing 5 Section 5-1095 as follows: 6 (55 ILCS 5/5-1095) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-1095) 7 Sec. 5-1095. Community antenna television systems; 8 satellite transmitted television programming. 9 (a) The County Board may license, tax or franchise the 10 business of operating a community antenna television system 11 or systems within the County and outside of a municipality, 12 as defined in Section 1-1-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code. 13 When an area is annexed to a municipality, the annexing 14 municipality shall thereby become the franchising authority 15 with respect to that portion of any community antenna 16 television system that, immediately before annexation, had 17 provided cable television services within the annexed area 18 under a franchise granted by the county, and the owner of 19 that community antenna television system shall thereby be 20 authorized to provide cable television services within the 21 annexed area under the terms and provisions of the existing 22 franchise. In that instance, the franchise shall remain in 23 effect until, by its terms, it expires, except that any 24 franchise fees payable under the franchise shall be payable 25 only to the county for a period of 5 years or until, by its 26 terms, the franchise expires, whichever occurs first. After 27 the 5 year period, any franchise fees payable under the 28 franchise shall be paid to the annexing municipality. In any 29 instance in which a duly franchised community antenna 30 television system is providing cable television services 31 within the annexing municipality at the time of annexation, -2- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 the annexing municipality may permit that franchisee to 2 extend its community antenna television system to the annexed 3 area under terms and conditions that are no more burdensome 4 nor less favorable to that franchisee than those imposed 5 under any community antenna television franchise applicable 6 to the annexed area at the time of annexation. The 7 authorization to extend cable television service to the 8 annexed area and any community antenna television system 9 authorized to provide cable television services within the 10 annexed area at the time of annexation shall not be subject 11 to the provisions of subsection (e) of this Section. 12 (b) "Community antenna television system" as used in 13 this Section, means any facility which is constructed in 14 whole or in part in, on, under or over any highway or other 15 public place and which is operated to perform for hire the 16 service of receiving and amplifying the signals broadcast by 17 one or more television stations and redistributing such 18 signals by wire, cable or other means to members of the 19 public who subscribe to such service except that such term 20 does not include (i) any system which serves fewer than 50 21 subscribers or (ii) any system which serves only the 22 residents of one or more apartment dwellings under common 23 ownership, control or management, and commercial 24 establishments located on the premises of such dwellings. 25 (c) The authority hereby granted does not include the 26 authority to license or franchise telephone companies subject 27 to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission or 28 the Federal Communications Commission in connection with 29 furnishing circuits, wires, cables or other facilities to the 30 operator of a community antenna television system. 31 The County Board may, in the course of franchising such 32 community antenna television system, grant to such franchisee 33 the authority and the right and permission to use all public 34 streets, rights of way, alleys, ways for public service -3- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 facilities, parks, playgrounds, school grounds, or other 2 public grounds, in which such county may have an interest, 3 for the construction, installation, operation, maintenance, 4 alteration, addition, extension or improvement of a community 5 antenna television system. 6 Any charge imposed by a community antenna television 7 system franchised pursuant to this Section for the raising or 8 removal of cables or lines to permit passage on, to or from a 9 street shall not exceed the reasonable costs of work 10 reasonably necessary to safely permit such passage. Pursuant 11 to subsections (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the 12 Constitution of the State of Illinois, the General Assembly 13 declares the regulation of charges which may be imposed by 14 community antenna television systems for the raising or 15 removal of cables or lines to permit passage on, to or from 16 streets is a power or function to be exercised exclusively by 17 the State and not to be exercised or performed concurrently 18 with the State by any unit of local government, including any 19 home rule unit. 20 The County Board may, upon written request by the 21 franchisee of a community antenna television system, exercise 22 its right of eminent domain solely for the purpose of 23 granting an easement right no greater than 8 feet in width, 24 extending no greater than 8 feet from any lot line for the 25 purpose of extending cable across any parcel of property in 26 the manner provided for by the law of eminent domain, 27 provided, however, such franchisee deposits with the county 28 sufficient security to pay all costs incurred by the county 29 in the exercise of its right of eminent domain. 30 A franchise agreement between a county and a community 31 antenna television system may not authorize the franchise 32 holder to impose a fee exceeding $1.50 upon a consumer for 33 the delinquent payment of a bill for community antenna 34 television services or a fee exceeding $10 for sending a -4- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 worker to a consumer's residence to disconnect the consumer's 2 service for nonpayment or delinquent payment. A payment shall 3 not be deemed delinquent unless the bill remains unpaid for 4 more than 30 days after the consumer has received the bill. 5 This limitation on the imposition of delinquent fees and 6 disconnection fees under a community antenna television 7 system franchise agreement is a denial and restriction of 8 home rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of 9 Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution. 10 Except as specifically provided otherwise in this 11 Section, this Section is not a limitation on any home rule 12 county. 13 (d) The General Assembly finds and declares that 14 satellite-transmitted television programming should be 15 available to those who desire to subscribe to such 16 programming and that decoding devices should be obtainable at 17 reasonable prices by those who are unable to obtain 18 satellite-transmitted television programming through duly 19 franchised community antenna television systems. 20 In any instance in which a person is unable to obtain 21 satellite-transmitted television programming through a duly 22 franchised community antenna television system either because 23 the municipality and county in which such person resides has 24 not granted a franchise to operate and maintain a community 25 antenna television system, or because the duly franchised 26 community antenna television system operator does not make 27 cable television services available to such person, any 28 programming company that delivers satellite-transmitted 29 television programming in scrambled or encrypted form shall 30 ensure that devices for decryption of such programming are 31 made available to such person, through the local community 32 antenna television operator or directly, for purchase or 33 lease at prices reasonably related to the cost of manufacture 34 and distribution of such devices. -5- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 (e) The General Assembly finds and declares that, in 2 order to ensure that community antenna television services 3 are provided in an orderly, competitive and economically 4 sound manner, the best interests of the public will be served 5 by the establishment of certain minimum standards and 6 procedures for the granting of additional cable television 7 franchises. 8 Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the 9 authority granted under subsection (a) hereof shall include 10 the authority to license, franchise and tax more than one 11 cable operator to provide community antenna television 12 services within the territorial limits of a single 13 franchising authority. For purposes of this subsection (e), 14 the term: 15 (i) "Existing cable television franchise" means a 16 community antenna television franchise granted by a 17 county which is in use at the time such county receives 18 an application or request by another cable operator for a 19 franchise to provide cable antenna television services 20 within all or any portion of the territorial area which 21 is or may be served under the existing cable television 22 franchise. 23 (ii) "Additional cable television franchise" means 24 a franchise pursuant to which community antenna 25 television services may be provided within the 26 territorial areas, or any portion thereof, which may be 27 served under an existing cable television franchise. 28 (iii) "Franchising Authority" is defined as that 29 term is defined under Section 602(9) of the Cable 30 Communications Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549. 31 (iv) "Cable operator" is defined as that term is 32 defined under Section 602(4) of the Cable Communications 33 Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549. 34 Before granting an additional cable television franchise, -6- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 the franchising authority shall: 2 (1) Give written notice to the owner or operator of 3 any other community antenna television system franchised 4 to serve all or any portion of the territorial area to be 5 served by such additional cable television franchise, 6 identifying the applicant for such additional franchise 7 and specifying the date, time and place at which the 8 franchising authority shall conduct public hearings to 9 consider and determine whether such additional cable 10 television franchise should be granted. 11 (2) Conduct a public hearing to determine the 12 public need for such additional cable television 13 franchise, the capacity of public rights-of-way to 14 accommodate such additional community antenna television 15 services, the potential disruption to existing users of 16 public rights-of-way to be used by such additional 17 franchise applicant to complete construction and to 18 provide cable television services within the proposed 19 franchise area, the long term economic impact of such 20 additional cable television system within the community, 21 and such other factors as the franchising authority shall 22 deem appropriate. 23 (3) Determine, based upon the foregoing factors, 24 whether it is in the best interest of the county to grant 25 such additional cable television franchise. 26 (4) If the franchising authority shall determine 27 that it is in the best interest of the county to do so, 28 it may grant the additional cable television franchise. 29 Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection 30 (e), no such additional cable television franchise shall 31 be granted under terms or conditions more favorable or 32 less burdensome to the applicant than those required 33 under the existing cable television franchise, including 34 but not limited to terms and conditions pertaining to the -7- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 territorial extent of the franchise, system design, 2 technical performance standards, construction schedules, 3 performance bonds, standards for construction and 4 installation of cable television facilities, service to 5 subscribers, public educational and governmental access 6 channels and programming, production assistance, 7 liability and indemnification, and franchise fees. 8 (5) Unless the existing cable television franchise 9 provides that any additional cable television franchise 10 shall be subject to the same terms or substantially 11 equivalent terms and conditions as those of the existing 12 cable television franchise, the franchising authority may 13 grant an additional cable television franchise under 14 different terms and conditions than those of the existing 15 franchise, in which event the franchising authority shall 16 enter into good faith negotiations with the existing 17 franchisee and shall, within 120 days after the effective 18 date of the additional cable television franchise, modify 19 the existing cable television franchise in a manner and 20 to the extent necessary to ensure that neither the 21 existing cable television franchise nor the additional 22 cable television franchise, each considered in its 23 entirety, provides a competitive advantage over the 24 other, provided that prior to modifying the existing 25 cable television franchise, the franchising authority 26 shall have conducted a public hearing to consider the 27 proposed modification. No modification in the terms and 28 conditions of the existing cable television franchise 29 shall oblige the existing cable television franchisee (1) 30 to make any additional payment to the franchising 31 authority, including the payment of any additional 32 franchise fee, (2) to engage in any additional 33 construction of the existing cable television system or, 34 (3) to modify the specifications or design of the -8- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 existing cable television system; and the inclusion of 2 the factors identified in items (2) and (3) shall not be 3 considered in determining whether either franchise 4 considered in its entirety, has a competitive advantage 5 over the other except to the extent that the additional 6 franchisee provides additional video or data services or 7 the equipment or facilities necessary to generate and or 8 carry such service. No modification in the terms and 9 conditions of the existing cable television franchise 10 shall be made if the existing cable television franchisee 11 elects to continue to operate under all terms and 12 conditions of the existing franchise. 13 If within the 120 day period the franchising 14 authority and the existing cable television franchisee 15 are unable to reach agreement on modifications to the 16 existing cable television franchise, then the franchising 17 authority shall modify the existing cable television 18 franchise, effective 45 days thereafter, in a manner, and 19 only to the extent, that the terms and conditions of the 20 existing cable television franchise shall no longer 21 impose any duty or obligation on the existing franchisee 22 which is not also imposed under the additional cable 23 television franchise; however, if by the modification the 24 existing cable television franchisee is relieved of 25 duties or obligations not imposed under the additional 26 cable television franchise, then within the same 45 days 27 and following a public hearing concerning modification of 28 the additional cable television franchise within that 45 29 day period, the franchising authority shall modify the 30 additional cable television franchise to the extent 31 necessary to insure that neither the existing cable 32 television franchise nor the additional cable television 33 franchise, each considered in its entirety, shall have a 34 competitive advantage over the other. -9- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 No county shall be subject to suit for damages based upon 2 the county's determination to grant or its refusal to grant 3 an additional cable television franchise, provided that a 4 public hearing as herein provided has been held and the 5 franchising authority has determined that it is in the best 6 interest of the county to grant or refuse to grant such 7 additional franchise, as the case may be. 8 It is declared to be the law of this State, pursuant to 9 paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the 10 Illinois Constitution, that the establishment of minimum 11 standards and procedures for the granting of additional cable 12 television franchises as provided in this subsection (e) is 13 an exclusive State power and function that may not be 14 exercised concurrently by a home rule unit. 15 (Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-285, eff. 7-31-97.) 16 Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by 17 changing Section 11-42-11 as follows: 18 (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-42-11) 19 Sec. 11-42-11. Community antenna television systems; 20 satellite transmitted television programming. 21 (a) The corporate authorities of each municipality may 22 license, franchise and tax the business of operating a 23 community antenna television system as hereinafter defined. 24 In municipalities with less than 2,000,000 inhabitants, the 25 corporate authorities may, under the limited circumstances 26 set forth in this Section, own (or lease as lessee) and 27 operate a community antenna television system; provided that 28 a municipality may not acquire, construct, own, or operate a 29 community antenna television system for the use or benefit of 30 private consumers or users, and may not charge a fee for that 31 consumption or use, unless the proposition to acquire, 32 construct, own, or operate a cable antenna television system -10- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 has been submitted to and approved by the electors of the 2 municipality in accordance with subsection (f). Before 3 acquiring, constructing, or commencing operation of a 4 community antenna television system, the municipality shall 5 comply with the following: 6 (1) Give written notice to the owner or operator of 7 any other community antenna television system franchised 8 to serve all or any portion of the territorial area to be 9 served by the municipality's community antenna television 10 system, specifying the date, time, and place at which the 11 municipality shall conduct public hearings to consider 12 and determine whether the municipality should acquire, 13 construct, or commence operation of a community antenna 14 television system. The public hearings shall be 15 conducted at least 14 days after this notice is given. 16 (2) Publish a notice of the hearing in 2 or more 17 newspapers published in the county, city, village, 18 incorporated town, or town, as the case may be. If there 19 is no such newspaper, then notice shall be published in 20 any 2 or more newspapers published in the county and 21 having a general circulation throughout the community. 22 The public hearings shall be conducted at least 14 days 23 after this notice is given. 24 (3) Conduct a public hearing to determine the means 25 by which construction, maintenance, and operation of the 26 system will be financed, including whether the use of tax 27 revenues or other fees will be required. 28 (b) The words "community antenna television system" 29 shall mean any facility which is constructed in whole or in 30 part in, on, under or over any highway or other public place 31 and which is operated to perform for hire the service of 32 receiving and amplifying the signals broadcast by one or more 33 television stations and redistributing such signals by wire, 34 cable or other means to members of the public who subscribe -11- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 to such service; except that such definition shall not 2 include (i) any system which serves fewer than fifty 3 subscribers, or (ii) any system which serves only the 4 residents of one or more apartment dwellings under common 5 ownership, control or management, and commercial 6 establishments located on the premises of such dwellings. 7 (c) The authority hereby granted does not include 8 authority to license, franchise or tax telephone companies 9 subject to jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission 10 or the Federal Communications Commission in connection with 11 the furnishing of circuits, wires, cables, and other 12 facilities to the operator of a community antenna television 13 system. 14 The corporate authorities of each municipality may, in 15 the course of franchising such community antenna television 16 system, grant to such franchisee the authority and the right 17 and permission to use all public streets, rights of way, 18 alleys, ways for public service facilities, parks, 19 playgrounds, school grounds, or other public grounds, in 20 which such municipality may have an interest, for the 21 construction, installation, operation, maintenance, 22 alteration, addition, extension or improvement of a community 23 antenna television system. 24 Any charge imposed by a community antenna television 25 system franchised pursuant to this Section for the raising or 26 removal of cables or lines to permit passage on, to or from a 27 street shall not exceed the reasonable costs of work 28 reasonably necessary to safely permit such passage. Pursuant 29 to subsections (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the 30 Constitution of the State of Illinois, the General Assembly 31 declares the regulation of charges which may be imposed by 32 community antenna television systems for the raising or 33 removal of cables or lines to permit passage on, to or from 34 streets is a power or function to be exercised exclusively by -12- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 the State and not to be exercised or performed concurrently 2 with the State by any unit of local government, including any 3 home rule unit. 4 The municipality may, upon written request by the 5 franchisee of a community antenna television system, exercise 6 its right of eminent domain solely for the purpose of 7 granting an easement right no greater than 8 feet in width, 8 extending no greater than 8 feet from any lot line for the 9 purpose of extending cable across any parcel of property in 10 the manner provided by the law of eminent domain, provided, 11 however, such franchisee deposits with the municipality 12 sufficient security to pay all costs incurred by the 13 municipality in the exercise of its right of eminent domain. 14 A franchise agreement between a municipality and a 15 community antenna television system may not authorize the 16 franchise holder to impose a fee exceeding $1.50 upon a 17 consumer for the delinquent payment of a bill for community 18 antenna television services or a fee exceeding $10 for 19 sending a worker to a consumer's residence to disconnect the 20 consumer's service for nonpayment or delinquent payment. A 21 payment shall not be deemed delinquent unless the bill 22 remains unpaid for more than 30 days after the consumer has 23 received the bill. This limitation on the imposition of 24 delinquent fees and disconnection fees under a community 25 antenna television system franchise agreement is a denial and 26 restriction of home rule powers and functions under 27 subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois 28 Constitution. 29 (d) The General Assembly finds and declares that 30 satellite-transmitted television programming should be 31 available to those who desire to subscribe to such 32 programming and that decoding devices should be obtainable at 33 reasonable prices by those who are unable to obtain 34 satellite-transmitted television programming through duly -13- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 franchised community antenna television systems. 2 In any instance in which a person is unable to obtain 3 satellite-transmitted television programming through a duly 4 franchised community antenna television system either because 5 the municipality and county in which such person resides has 6 not granted a franchise to operate and maintain a community 7 antenna television system, or because the duly franchised 8 community antenna television system operator does not make 9 cable television services available to such person, any 10 programming company that delivers satellite-transmitted 11 television programming in scrambled or encrypted form shall 12 ensure that devices for description of such programming are 13 made available to such person, through the local community 14 antenna television operator or directly, for purchase or 15 lease at prices reasonably related to the cost of manufacture 16 and distribution of such devices. 17 (e) The General Assembly finds and declares that, in 18 order to ensure that community antenna television services 19 are provided in an orderly, competitive and economically 20 sound manner, the best interests of the public will be served 21 by the establishment of certain minimum standards and 22 procedures for the granting of additional cable television 23 franchises. 24 Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the 25 authority granted under subsection (a) hereof shall include 26 the authority to license, franchise and tax more than one 27 cable operator to provide community antenna television 28 services within the corporate limits of a single franchising 29 authority. For purposes of this subsection (e), the term: 30 (i) "Existing cable television franchise" means a 31 community antenna television franchise granted by a 32 municipality which is in use at the time such 33 municipality receives an application or request by 34 another cable operator for a franchise to provide cable -14- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 antenna television services within all or any portion of 2 the territorial area which is or may be served under the 3 existing cable television franchise. 4 (ii) "Additional cable television franchise" means 5 a franchise pursuant to which community antenna 6 television services may be provided within the 7 territorial areas, or any portion thereof, which may be 8 served under an existing cable television franchise. 9 (iii) "Franchising Authority" is defined as that 10 term is defined under Section 602(9) of the Cable 11 Communications Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549, but 12 does not include any municipality with a population of 13 1,000,000 or more. 14 (iv) "Cable operator" is defined as that term is 15 defined under Section 602(4) of the Cable Communications 16 Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549. 17 Before granting an additional cable television franchise, 18 the franchising authority shall: 19 (1) Give written notice to the owner or operator of 20 any other community antenna television system franchised 21 to serve all or any portion of the territorial area to be 22 served by such additional cable television franchise, 23 identifying the applicant for such additional franchise 24 and specifying the date, time and place at which the 25 franchising authority shall conduct public hearings to 26 consider and determine whether such additional cable 27 television franchise should be granted. 28 (2) Conduct a public hearing to determine the 29 public need for such additional cable television 30 franchise, the capacity of public rights-of-way to 31 accommodate such additional community antenna television 32 services, the potential disruption to existing users of 33 public rights-of-way to be used by such additional 34 franchise applicant to complete construction and to -15- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 provide cable television services within the proposed 2 franchise area, the long term economic impact of such 3 additional cable television system within the community, 4 and such other factors as the franchising authority shall 5 deem appropriate. 6 (3) Determine, based upon the foregoing factors, 7 whether it is in the best interest of the municipality to 8 grant such additional cable television franchise. 9 (4) If the franchising authority shall determine 10 that it is in the best interest of the municipality to do 11 so, it may grant the additional cable television 12 franchise. Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this 13 subsection (e), no such additional cable television 14 franchise shall be granted under terms or conditions more 15 favorable or less burdensome to the applicant than those 16 required under the existing cable television franchise, 17 including but not limited to terms and conditions 18 pertaining to the territorial extent of the franchise, 19 system design, technical performance standards, 20 construction schedules, performance bonds, standards for 21 construction and installation of cable television 22 facilities, service to subscribers, public educational 23 and governmental access channels and programming, 24 production assistance, liability and indemnification, and 25 franchise fees. 26 (5) Unless the existing cable television franchise 27 provides that any additional cable television franchise 28 shall be subject to the same terms or substantially 29 equivalent terms and conditions as those of the existing 30 cable television franchise, the franchising authority may 31 grant an additional cable television franchise under 32 different terms and conditions than those of the existing 33 franchise, in which event the franchising authority shall 34 enter into good faith negotiations with the existing -16- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 franchisee and shall, within 120 days after the effective 2 date of the additional cable television franchise, modify 3 the existing cable television franchise in a manner and 4 to the extent necessary to ensure that neither the 5 existing cable television franchise nor the additional 6 cable television franchise, each considered in its 7 entirety, provides a competitive advantage over the 8 other, provided that prior to modifying the existing 9 cable television franchise, the franchising authority 10 shall have conducted a public hearing to consider the 11 proposed modification. No modification in the terms and 12 conditions of the existing cable television franchise 13 shall oblige the existing cable television franchisee (1) 14 to make any additional payment to the franchising 15 authority, including the payment of any additional 16 franchise fee, (2) to engage in any additional 17 construction of the existing cable television system or, 18 (3) to modify the specifications or design of the 19 existing cable television system; and the inclusion of 20 the factors identified in items (2) and (3) shall not be 21 considered in determining whether either franchise 22 considered in its entirety, has a competitive advantage 23 over the other except to the extent that the additional 24 franchisee provides additional video or data services or 25 the equipment or facilities necessary to generate and or 26 carry such service. No modification in the terms and 27 conditions of the existing cable television franchise 28 shall be made if the existing cable television franchisee 29 elects to continue to operate under all terms and 30 conditions of the existing franchise. 31 If within the 120 day period the franchising 32 authority and the existing cable television franchisee 33 are unable to reach agreement on modifications to the 34 existing cable television franchise, then the franchising -17- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 authority shall modify the existing cable television 2 franchise, effective 45 days thereafter, in a manner, and 3 only to the extent, that the terms and conditions of the 4 existing cable television franchise shall no longer 5 impose any duty or obligation on the existing franchisee 6 which is not also imposed under the additional cable 7 television franchise; however, if by the modification the 8 existing cable television franchisee is relieved of 9 duties or obligations not imposed under the additional 10 cable television franchise, then within the same 45 days 11 and following a public hearing concerning modification of 12 the additional cable television franchise within that 45 13 day period, the franchising authority shall modify the 14 additional cable television franchise to the extent 15 necessary to insure that neither the existing cable 16 television franchise nor the additional cable television 17 franchise, each considered in its entirety, shall have a 18 competitive advantage over the other. 19 No municipality shall be subject to suit for damages 20 based upon the municipality's determination to grant or its 21 refusal to grant an additional cable television franchise, 22 provided that a public hearing as herein provided has been 23 held and the franchising authority has determined that it is 24 in the best interest of the municipality to grant or refuse 25 to grant such additional franchise, as the case may be. 26 It is declared to be the law of this State, pursuant to 27 paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the 28 Illinois Constitution, that the establishment of minimum 29 standards and procedures for the granting of additional cable 30 television franchises by municipalities with a population 31 less than 1,000,000 as provided in this subsection (e) is an 32 exclusive State power and function that may not be exercised 33 concurrently by a home rule unit. 34 (f) No municipality may acquire, construct, own, or -18- LRB093 07515 JLS 07688 b 1 operate a community antenna television system unless the 2 corporate authorities adopt an ordinance. The ordinance must 3 set forth the action proposed; describe the plant, equipment, 4 and property to be acquired or constructed; and specifically 5 describe the manner in which the construction, acquisition, 6 and operation of the system will be financed. 7 The ordinance may not take effect until the question of 8 acquiring, construction, owning, or operating a community 9 antenna television system has been submitted to the electors 10 of the municipality at a regular election and approved by a 11 majority of the electors voting on the question. The 12 corporate authorities must certify the question to the proper 13 election authority, which must submit the question at an 14 election in accordance with the Election Code. 15 The question must be submitted in substantially the 16 following form: 17 Shall the ordinance authorizing the municipality to 18 (insert action authorized by ordinance) take effect? 19 The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No". 20 If a majority of electors voting on the question vote in 21 the affirmative, the ordinance shall take effect. 22 Not more than 30 or less than 15 days before the date of 23 the referendum, the municipal clerk must publish the 24 ordinance at least once in one or more newspapers published 25 in the municipality or, if no newspaper is published in the 26 municipality, in one or more newspapers of general 27 circulation within the municipality. 28 (Source: P.A. 90-285, eff. 7-31-97; 91-648, eff. 1-1-00.)