COM/CRC/sid Date of Issuance 4/17/2009
Decision 09-04-011 April 16, 2009
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Consider the Adoption of a General Order and Procedures to Implement the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006. |
Rulemaking 06-10-005 (Filed October 5, 2006) |
DECISION MODIFYING DECISION 07-03-014
We modify Decision 07-03-014 to extend through Fiscal Year 2012-2013 the current funding mechanism for the regulatory costs associated with the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (AB 2987, Ch. 700, Stats. 2006).
This change is necessitated to ensure reasonable stability in the fees assessed on franchise holders in the face of transitional issues.
This order is brought on the Commission's own motion.
This proceeding is closed.
Background
Decision (D.) 07-03-014 adopted a General Order and Procedures to implement the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (DIVCA). D.07-03-014 imposed user fees on franchise holders to recover the Commission's cost of fulfilling its duties under DIVCA. In D.07-03-014, the user fee process for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 was based on the state video franchise holders' pro-rata share of households in each franchise holder's video service area. D.07-03-014 took this approach because the Commission recognized that state video franchise holders would have little or no revenue from their video services during the first year. Therefore, a fee structure was adopted based on the pro-rata number of total households in each franchise holder's video service area.1
D.07-03-014 anticipated that this revenue issue would be transitional, and that apportioning fees among the franchise holders based on the franchise holder's revenue would be a reasonable approach beginning in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
D.07-03-014, therefore, adopted a plan to assess fees for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 on franchise holders based on revenues similar to the way the Commission calculated user fees for utilities under its jurisdiction.2 Under this process, the user fee on franchise holders was to be collected based on the pro-rata share of all gross state video franchise revenue that is attributable to each state video franchise holder in the prior calendar year. The state video revenues reported for the prior calendar year were to be used to calculate a user fee per dollar of revenue collected for the next fiscal year.3 The user fee for Fiscal Year 2008-2009, for example, would be based on the franchise holders' revenues in calendar year 2007 and would be used to recover the projected expenditure authorized in the state budget for the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 program.
It has become apparent, however, that this approach raises both timing and transitional issues.
On March 3, 2009, an Assigned Commissioner's Ruling requested comments on a proposal to extend the interim fee structure through Fiscal Year 2012-2013.4
Opening Comments were filed by the California Cable and Telecommunications Association (CCTA) on March 13, 2009.5 Verizon California, Inc. (Verizon) filed Reply Comments on March 16, 2009.6
1 D.07-03-014, pp. 124-125, Findings of Fact 95, 96, 97, 98.
2 D.07-03-014, pp. 122-123, Findings of Fact 87, 89.
3 D.07-03-014, pp. 122-123, Findings of Fact 88, 91.
4 Assigned Commissioner's Ruling Requesting Comments on Extending the Interim Process for Setting User Fees on Video Franchises, March 3, 2009.
5 Comments of the California Cable and Television Association on Assigned Commissioner's Ruling Requesting Comments on Extending the Interim Process for Setting User Fees on Video Franchises, March 13, 2009 (CCTA Opening Comments).
6 Reply Comments of Verizon California, Inc. (U 1002 C) on Assigned Commissioner's Ruling Requesting Comments on Extending the Interim Process for Setting User Fees on Video Franchises, March 16, 2009 (Verizon Reply Comments).
