House Telecom Bill to Exceed Unfunded Mandates Threshold

COPE (HR 5252) TO EXCEED UNFUNDED MANDATES THRESHOLD
[SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office, AUTHOR: Melissa Petersen, Sarah Puro, Philip Webre and Fatimot Ladipo]
H.R. 5252 would allow providers of cable service to apply to the FCC for a national franchise. National franchises would be substitutes for separate, negotiated agreements with states and localities regarding the provision of cable service to a local area. H.R. 5252 contains several intergovernmental mandates, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). In particular, it would prohibit intergovernmental entities -- primarily municipal governments -- from charging certain fees to providers of cable service. The bill also would impose a variety of requirements and limitations on public safety access points (PSAPs). Further, the bill would preempt state laws that prohibit municipal governments from providing Internet access services and, if area cable providers receive a national franchise, would preempt state and local laws that address consumer protection, cable franchises, and the use of municipal rights-of-way. CBO estimates that the net direct costs of these mandates on state and local governments would grow over time, and would likely fall between $100 million and $350 million by 2011. Such losses would exceed the threshold established in UMRA in at least one of the first five years the mandates are in effect (the threshold is $64 million in 2006 and is adjusted annually for inflation).
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/71xx/doc7182/hr5252.pdf