Raised Bill No. 176 Summary

• Defines "subscriber" as any residential or commercial customer purchasing video streaming, Internet access, or cable television services, and defines "video streaming" as compressed video delivered over the Internet on a subscription basis.

• Requires the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to establish a fee of $5 per subscriber per year (adjusted annually by consumer price index) paid by subscribers and multichannel video programming distributors to support community access programming operations.

• Grants authority to increase or decrease the fee by up to 40% based on criteria including advisory council recommendations, public interest level, community need for educational programming, participation breadth, facility adequacy, and other relevant factors.

• Specifies that subscribers of multiple services (video streaming, Internet, and cable television) pay only one fee rather than separate fees for each service type.

• Takes effect upon passage and amends Connecticut General Statutes Section 16-331a governing community access programming operations and funding.