New South Carolina Franchising Law

Local Governments No Longer Authorized to Issue Franchises
Pursuant to a bill enacted May 23, 2006, counties and municipalities (“Local Governments”) in South Carolina no longer have the authority to issue cable franchises. New franchise applications must now be directed to the Secretary of State.

Local Governments may continue to enforce existing franchise agreements until their expiration. Incumbent franchise holders will likewise remain subject to their existing franchise agreements and cannot avail themselves of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority in areas subject to a Local Government franchise until expiration of such current agreements. That said, the new law does permit incumbents to opt out of such franchises at any time on or after the date that the holder of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority provides notice of service commencement. Additionally, incumbent cable operators may seek authority under the new law to provide services in areas where they are not subject to a current franchise agreement.

Applications for a state-issued certificate of franchise authority must be accompanied by an affidavit and signed by an officer or general partner of the applicant containing the following:

(1) affirmation that the applicant agrees to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations;

(2) a written description of the municipalities and unincorporated areas of counties to be served, in whole or in part, by the applicant, which must be amended by the applicant before the provision of cable service within an area not described in a previous application or amendment; and

(3) the location of the principal place of business and the names of the principal executive officers of the applicant. Holders of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority seeking to expand into new service areas must file amended applications with the Secretary of State identifying the new service areas to be served.

Procedure
The Secretary of State must notify each affected Local Government of its receipt of the application or amended application within five days of its receipt. The notification will request the franchise fee rate to which the incumbent cable operator is subject, the number of activated PEG access channels and whether it consents to the grant. There does not appear to be any requirement that notice be provided to the incumbent cable operator.

Local Governments then have 65 days to respond and must provide an explanation if they seek to deny consent. Where a Local Government responds and does not object, a franchisee must be issued a certificate of franchise authority within 80 days of the request for information with the same franchise fee and PEG access obligations as the incumbent.

Where Local Governments fail to provide the requested franchise fee rate and PEG access information, the statute automatically imposes a franchise fee rate of 2% of gross revenue and absolves the applicant of any requirement to provide PEG access.

If a Local Government denies consent or does not timely provide its unconditional consent, the application will be denied. The only remedy from such a denial is to seek relief under state or federal law in state or federal court.

No Build-Out Requirements
Service under a state-issued certificate of franchise authority must begin to be deployed in each of the areas described in an application within one year of the date of the issuance of the certificate or the certificate becomes null and void.

The statute specifically provides, however, that the foregoing service commencement requirement “shall not be construed to require deployment of service throughout the municipalities or the unincorporated areas of the counties described in [the application]” and later specifically prohibits the imposition of build-out requirements. Accordingly, the statute lacks any build-out requirements.

The statute does, however, prohibit state certificated franchisee’s from denying access to service to any group of potential residential subscribers “because of the income of the residents in the local area in which the group resides.” The statute further provides that “cost, density, distance and technological or commercial limitations must be taken into account” in determining whether a violation of the redlining prohibition has occurred. State issued certificate holders are granted “a reasonable time to deploy … service.” Those who believe they have been denied access to services may file a complaint with the Secretary of State.

Conclusion
While the statute does contain franchise, requirements, PEG requirements and customer service requirements – it requires compliance “with all applicable federal customer service requirements” – the statute does not speak to a number of issues common to franchise agreements. For example, the statute makes no provision for bonding requirements or institutional networks.

Additionally, state-issued certificates of franchise authority are also “fully transferable.” Other than the requirement to submit a notice of transfer with the Secretary of State and the affected Local Governments within ten days of the completion of the transfer, there is no obligation to obtain consent to the transfer. In fact, the statute provides that “the Secretary of State is neither required nor authorized to act on the notice.”

State-issued certificates appear to have the potential to relieve incumbent operators from a number of obligations to which they are currently subject. For that reason, strong consideration should be given to seeking state issued certificates as the opportunities present themselves.



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Houston Divorce Lawyer discusses the Mediation Process

DWI

You thought it could never happen to you, but suddenly you find yourself in a situation that you did not expect. What do you do? Contact Texas drunk driving defense lawyers Jack Carroll or Don Becker to protect your rights! The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles can suspend your license if you refuse to take a breath test, blood test, or urine test. WARNING! You have a limited amount of time (15 days) in which to appeal this administrative license suspension.

The Patenting Process

If you have come up with a great idea, you will naturally want to keep it safe from thieves. That's
where patents come in. A patent is similar to a copyright (which pertains to books and music) and
trademarks (applicable to brand names as well as logos). A patent is like a lock for your intellectual property. It keeps your ideas secure, so that no one else can claim them as their own.

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Mesothelioma And The Dangers Of Asbestos

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is common among people who have been exposed to asbestos. Because of this causation, most mesothelioma patients tend to be men of retirement age, who may have worked with asbestos in unsafe conditions three to five decades ago. Nowadays there are precautions in place for working with this dangerous substance.

And since asbestos particles can become trapped within hair and clothes, they can also spread to others. For this reason, there is another group of mesothelioma patients who did not work with asbestos themselves, but who came into regular contact with people who worked
with mesothelioma.

Unfortunately, mesothelioma is very difficult to treat and may not respond well to traditional cancer
therapies. The symptoms are hard to catch, since they are quite common. They include coughing, weight loss, difficulty breathing, and fever.

This is why anyone who thinks they may have been regularly exposed to asbestos particles should be sure to tell their physician. Be sure to let your doctor know if you have worked with asbestos in an unsafe environment (fully protective chemical suits and breathing masks are what
asbestos workers now must wear, so anything less is considered unprotected), or anyone who spent significant time with someone who worked with the material.

Mesothelioma afflicts the cells in the mesothelium, which is the external layer of the stomach, lungs
and heart. That means there are three basic types of mesothelioma, one for each of these organs.

Pleural mesothelioma affects the lung and is the most common of the three types. This makes sense since asbestos particles are easily breathed in and trapped in the lung. Symptoms include shortness of breath, trouble breathing, difficulty swallowing, weight loss, and fever.

Mesothelioma that affects the abdomen or stomach is called peritoneal mesothelioma. Here the symptoms are somewhat different, including vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, swollen or painful belly, and weight loss.

The last type of mesothelioma is that which affects the heart. Here symptoms might include heart
palpitations, severe cough, and trouble breathing. This form of the disease, known as pericardial mesothelioma, is the rarest.

Prognosis is best if the disease is caught early, as with most types of cancer. That's why it's so important to talk to your physician about your medical history and prior exposure to asbestos. But mesothelioma in general has a poor sucess rate, especially when caught later.

Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Also, there are several palliative therapy treatments available that can help alleviate pain associated with the disease.

As with other cancers, there are many mesothelioma treatment clinical trials currently underway around the globe. Doctors and scientists are constantly searching for new ways to treat even such devastating cancers as this one.

There is one silver lining. Since we know what causes mesothelioma, you can easily prevent it by staying away from asbestos, or from people who work with this substance without taking proper precautions. Asbestos itself is not that dangerous until it is broken down, because this allows the particles to float around in the air and get absorbed by the body.

Since it used to be very common in the construction industry it's not uncommon to find it in buildings,
especially in roofs or walls. If you think you have asbestos in your home, don't try to fix the problem
on your own. Call in a professional, since removing and getting rid of the material yourself is against the law. Getting help with this matter may cost a bit more than doing it yourself, but it's well worth it.


Melinda Brindine has worked extensively with sufferers of mesothelioma. She runs the online community, Mesothelioma Y, to provide specialist advice on the threat of mesothelioma. If you would like to know more about mesothelioma then visit http://www.mesotheliomay.com



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