Division 1. Cable Television

This Subtitle shall be known and may be cited as the "Prince George's County Cable Communications Regulatory Code."

Prince George's County, Maryland, finds that the further development of cable communications may result in great benefits for the people of the County. Cable technology is rapidly changing, and cable plays an essential role as part of the County's basic infrastructure. Cable television systems occupy and extensively make use of scarce and valuable public rights-of-way in a manner different from the way in which the general public uses them and in a manner reserved primarily for those who provide essential services to the public subject to special public interest obligations, such as utility companies. The County finds that public convenience, safety, and general welfare can best be served by establishing regulatory powers vested in the County or such persons as the County so designates to protect the public and to ensure that any franchise granted is operated in the public interest.

The County further finds that cable systems have the capacity to provide not only entertainment and information services to County residents, but can provide a variety of broadband, interactive communications services to institutions and individuals.

In light of the foregoing, the following goals, among others, underlie the provisions set forth in this Subtitle:

The County intends that all provisions set forth in this Subtitle shall be construed to serve the public interest and the public purposes set forth herein, and that any franchise issued pursuant to this Subtitle shall be construed to include the findings and public purposes set forth herein as integral parts thereof.

The County may delegate the performance of any act, duty, or obligation, or the exercise of any power under this Subtitle or any franchise agreement to any employee, officer, department, or agency except where prohibited by applicable law.

For the purposes of this Subtitle, the following terms, phrases, words, and abbreviations shall have the meanings given herein, unless otherwise expressly stated. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future tense; words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number; and the masculine gender includes the feminine gender. The words "shall" and "will" are mandatory, and "may" is permissive. Unless otherwise expressly stated, words not defined herein shall be given the meaning set forth in Title 47 of the United States Code, as amended, and, if not defined therein, their common and ordinary meaning.

Channel shall mean a six Megahertz (MHz) frequency band, or equivalent capacity, which is capable of carrying either one standard video signal, a number of audio, digital, or other nonvideo signals, or some combination of such signals.

Commission or CATV Commission shall mean the Prince George's County Cable Television Commission established herein, or its designee.

Converter shall mean an electronic device which may serve as an interface between a system and a subscriber's television receiver or other terminal equipment, and which may perform a variety of functions, including signal security, descrambling, electronic polling, frequency conversion and channel selection.

Council shall mean the County Council of Prince George's County, Maryland.

County shall mean Prince George's County, Maryland, and any agency, department, or agent thereof.

County Executive mean the County Executive of Prince George's County, Maryland, or the County Executive's designee.

Customer shall mean the same as "Subscriber," defined herein.

Director shall mean the Director, or the Director's designee, of the Office of Information Technology.

Educational Access Channel or Educational Channel shall mean any channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for educational use.

Fair Market Value shall mean the price that a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller.

FCC shall mean the Federal Communications Commission, its designee, or any successor governmental entity thereto.

Force Majeure shall mean that the franchisee shall not be liable for delay in performance of, or failure to perform, in whole or in part, its obligations pursuant to the agreement due, directly or indirectly, to severe or unusual weather conditions, strike, labor disturbance, lockout, war or act of war (whether an actual declaration of war is made or not), insurrection, riot, act of public enemy, action or inaction of any government instrumentality or public utility including condemnation, accidents for which franchisee is not primarily responsible, fire, flood or other act of God, sabotage or other events to the extent that such causes or other events are beyond the reasonable control of the franchisee. In the event that any such delay in performance or failure to perform affects only part of the franchisee's capacity to perform, the franchisee shall perform to the maximum extent it is able to perform and shall take all reasonable steps within its power to correct such cause(s) in as expeditious a manner as possible.

Franchise shall mean a nonexclusive authorization granted pursuant to this Subtitle to construct, operate, and maintain a cable system along the public rights-of-way to provide cable service within all, or a specified area of, Prince George's County, Maryland. Any such authorization, in whatever form granted, shall not mean or include any general license or permit required for the privilege of transacting and carrying on a business within the County as required by the ordinances and laws of the County, or for attaching devices to poles or other structures, whether owned by the County or a private entity, or for excavating or performing other work in or along public rights-of-way.

Franchise Agreement shall mean a contract entered into pursuant to this Subtitle between the County and a franchisee that sets forth, subject to this Subtitle, the terms and conditions under which a franchise will be granted and exercised.

Franchise Area shall mean the area of the County that a franchisee is authorized to serve as provided for in its franchise agreement.

Franchisee shall mean a natural person, partnership, domestic or foreign corporation, association, joint venture, or organization of any kind that has been granted a franchise by a natural person, partnership, domestic or foreign corporation, association, joint venture, or organization of any kind that has been granted a franchise by the County.

Governmental Access Channel or Governmental Channel shall mean any channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for government use.

Gross Revenues shall mean any and all cash, credits, property, or other consideration of any kind or nature that constitute revenue in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and that arise from, or are attributable to, or in any way derived directly or indirectly by, a franchisee or its affiliates, or by any other entity that is a cable operator of the franchisee's system to provide cable services except as hereinafter specifically excluded.

Installation shall mean the connection of system services to subscribers' television receivers or other subscriber-owned or provided terminal equipment.

Leased Access Channel or Commercial Access Channel shall mean any channel on a cable system designated or dedicated for use by a person unaffiliated with the franchisee.

Net Profit shall mean the amount remaining after deducting from gross revenues all of the actual, direct and indirect, expenses associated with operating the cable system, including the franchise fee, interest, depreciation, and Federal or State income taxes.

Normal Business Hours shall mean those hours during which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers, including some evening hours at least one night per week and/or some weekend hours.

Normal Operating Conditions shall mean those service conditions that are within the control of a franchisee. Conditions that are not within the control of a franchisee include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe weather conditions. Conditions that are ordinarily within the control of a franchisee include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of a cable system.

OVS shall mean an open video system that complies with 47 U.S.C. Section 653, as amended.

PEG shall mean Public, Educational, and Governmental.

Person shall mean an individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, organization, corporation, or any lawful successor thereto or transferee thereof, but such term does not include the County.

Programmer shall mean any person or entity that produces or otherwise provides program material or information for transmission by video, audio, digital, or other signals, either live or from recorded traces or other storage media, to users or subscribers by means of a cable system.

Public Access Channel shall mean any channel on a cable system set aside by a franchisee for use by the general public, including groups and individuals, and which is available for such use on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Public Benefit Corporation shall mean any nonprofit, tax-exempt organization which has as its primary purpose the provision of services of education, health, civic, charitable, or similar nature on a County-wide basis.

Public Rights-of-Way shall mean the surface, the air space above the surface, and the area below the surface of any public street, highway, lane, path, alley, sidewalk, boulevard, drive, bridge, tunnel, park, parkway, waterway, easement, or similar property within the County, which, consistent with the purposes for which it was dedicated, may be used for the purpose of installing and maintaining a cable system. No reference herein, or in any franchise agreement, to a "public Right-of-Way" shall be deemed to be a representation or guarantee by the County that its interest or other right to control the use of such property is sufficient to permit its use for such purposes, and a franchisee shall be deemed to gain only those rights to use as are properly in the County and as the County may have the undisputed right and power to give.

Security Fund shall mean a performance bond, letter of credit, or cash deposit, or any or all of these, to the extent required by a franchise agreement.

Service Interruption shall mean loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels, as described in FCC regulations as of December 1, 1998.

Subscriber shall mean any person who legally receives any service delivered over a cable system.

User shall mean a person or organization using a channel or equipment and facilities for purposes of producing or transmitting material, as contrasted with the receipt thereof in the capacity of a subscriber.

No franchise shall be granted for a period of more than fifteen (15) years, except that a franchisee may apply for renewal or extension pursuant to applicable law.

Any person who occupies the public rights-of-way of the County for the purpose of operating or constructing a cable system or an OVS and who does not hold a valid franchise (or other authority allowing such entity to be in the public rights-of-way to provide video services) from the County shall nonetheless, to the extent allowable by law, be subject to all provisions of this Subtitle including, but not limited to, its provisions regarding construction and technical standards and franchise fees. Such person shall apply for a franchise within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written notice by the County that a franchise agreement is required. The County may, in its discretion, require such person to remove its property and restore the area to a condition satisfactory to the County within a reasonable time period, as the County shall determine; remove the property itself and restore the area to a satisfactory condition and charge the person the costs therefor; and/or take any other action it is entitled to take under applicable law, including filing for and seeking damages for trespass. In no event shall a franchise be created unless it is issued by action of the County and subject to a written franchise agreement.

Any act that a franchisee is or may be required to perform under this Subtitle, a franchise agreement, or applicable law including, but not limited to, removal, replacement, or modification of the installation of any of its facilities and restoration to County standards and specifications of any damage or disturbance caused to the public rights-of-way as a result of its operations or construction on its behalf, shall be performed at the franchisee's expense unless expressly provided to the contrary in this Subtitle, the franchise agreement, or applicable law.

Nothing herein shall be deemed or construed to impair or affect, in any way or to any extent, the County's rights of eminent domain to the extent to which they may apply to any public utility or cable system.

An RFP for the grant of an initial franchise shall require, and any such application shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:

The renewal of any franchise to provide cable service shall be conducted in a manner consistent with Section 626 of the Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. Section 546, as from time to time amended.

An application for modification of a franchise agreement shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

An applicant shall be notified of any public hearings held in connection with the evaluation of its application and shall be given an opportunity to be heard. In addition, prior to the issuance of a franchise, the County shall provide for the holding of a public hearing within the proposed franchise area, following reasonable notice to the public, at which every applicant and its applications shall be examined and the public and all interested parties afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

Following approval by the County, any franchise granted pursuant to this Subtitle, and the rights, privileges, and authority granted by a franchise agreement, shall take effect and be in force from and after the first date on which both the franchisee and the County have accepted and signed the franchise agreement and the bill granting County approval is effective.

To be acceptable for filing, any application of the type listed below, submitted after the effective date of this Subtitle, shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable filing fee of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000), payable to the County, to cover costs incidental to the awarding or enforcement of the franchise, as appropriate:

To the extent consistent with applicable law:

A franchisee shall construct and operate its system so as to provide service to all parts of its franchise area having a density of at least twenty (20) residences per mile of system. In addition, all areas which reach such density at any time during the franchise term shall be provided service upon reaching the minimum density.

Except as federal law may otherwise require, and subject to the minimum density requirement specified above, a franchisee shall, upon request:

The franchisee shall make every reasonable effort to cooperate with cable television franchise holders in contiguous communities in order to provide cable service in areas within the County but outside the franchisee's service area.

Every franchise agreement shall specify the construction schedule that will apply to any required construction, upgrade, or rebuild of the cable system.

Any and all public rights-of-way, public property, or private property that is disturbed or damaged during the construction, repair, replacement, relocation, operation, maintenance, or construction of a cable system shall be repaired, replaced, and restored, as appropriate, in substantially the same condition and in a good workmanlike, timely manner, in accordance with the standards for such work set by the County. With respect to damage or disturbances to public rights-of-way or public property, all repairs and restoration shall be performed in accordance with Subtitle 23 of the Prince George's County Code or any successor provision. All repairs, replacements, and restoration shall be undertaken and completed within the timeframes specified by the County or, if none are specified, no more than thirty (30) days after the damage is incurred, and shall be completed as soon as reasonably possible thereafter. A franchisee shall guarantee and maintain such restoration for at least one year against defective materials or workmanship or for cuts in pavement surface until such time as pavement is overlaid, whichever is longer.

Nothing in this Subtitle or any franchise agreement shall be in preference or hindrance to the right of the County and any board, authority, commission, or public service corporation to perform or carry on any public works or public improvements of any description; and should a franchisee's system in any way interfere with the construction, maintenance, or repair of such public works or public improvements, the franchisee shall protect or relocate its system, or part thereof, as reasonably directed by any Prince George's County official, board, authority, commission, or public service corporation.

The franchisee shall make every reasonable effort to cooperate with cable television franchise holders in contiguous communities in order to provide cable service in areas within the County but outside the franchisee's service area.

A franchise shall address the cable system's two-way capacity and shall include provisions regarding nonvoice return communication.

Franchisee shall maintain in constant readiness equipment capable of providing standby power for the cable television system.

Unless otherwise provided in a cable operator's franchise agreement, the following provisions (1) through (5) shall apply:

The County may designate one (1) or more entities, including a nonprofit access management corporation, to perform any or all of the following functions:

For any public access channel, the entity managing such channel shall establish:

PEG Access Channel(s) shall be for the noncommercial use of the County and shall be available at no expense to the County and access users.

This Section sets forth customer service standards that a franchisee must satisfy. In addition, the franchisee shall at all times satisfy any additional or stricter requirements established by FCC regulations, or other applicable Federal, State, or local law or regulation, as the same may be amended from time to time.

Under normal operating conditions, each of the following standards shall be met by all franchisees at least ninety-five percent (95%) of the time, as measured on a quarterly basis:

A franchisee shall make available to any subscribers, upon request, the option of blocking the video or audio portion of any channel or channels of programming entering the subscriber's home. The control option described herein shall be made available to all subscribers requesting it when any cable service is provided, or reasonably soon thereafter.

The CATV Commission shall enforce the rate regulations promulgated by the FCC in 47 CFR 76.922, et seq., for the establishment of initial basic cable service and associated equipment rates and for basic cable service and associated equipment rate increases. The franchisee shall submit all rate filings on the proper federal forms. All CATV Commission rate proceedings shall be consistent with the rules and regulations promulgated by the FCC.

Following the receipt by the CATV Commission of the franchisee's request for review of its existing rates for the basic service tier and associated equipment costs, or the franchisee's request for a proposed increase in these rates, the CATV Commission shall hold a public hearing prior to making a final decision on the request for rate review. The public hearing shall be held to provide the franchisee and all other interested persons an opportunity to be heard concerning the request. The Commission shall have the public hearing notice setting forth the time and place of said hearing published, at least once, in the County newspapers of record and on the government access channel no less than ten (10) working days prior to the date of the hearing. The Commission shall mail a copy of the public hearing notice to the franchisee at least ten (10) working days prior to the date of the hearing.

The existing rates will remain in effect or the proposed rates, as appropriate, will become effective after thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the request; provided, however, that, if the CATV Commission is unable to reach a decision, based upon the material submitted by the franchisee, it may toll the thirty (30) day deadline by issuing a brief written order within the thirty (30) day period explaining that it needs additional time to request and/or consider additional information or to consider the comments from interested persons. The CATV Commission may request an additional ninety (90) days in cases not involving cost-of-service showings, or an additional one hundred fifty (150) days in cases involving cost-of-service showings. The proposed rates shall go into effect or existing rates will remain in effect, as appropriate, at the end of the ninety (90) or one hundred fifty (150) day period, subject to refunds, if the CATV Commission issues a subsequent written decision disapproving any portion of such rates. In order to issue such refunds, the CATV Commission must issue a brief written order to the franchisee by the end of the ninety (90) or one hundred fifty (150) day period, directing the franchisee to keep an accurate account of all amounts received by reason of the rate in issue and on whose behalf such amounts were paid. The maximum one hundred eighty (180) day period may be extended by mutual agreement of the CATV Commission and the franchisee.

The franchisee, upon submitting information required to be produced in the course of a rate proceeding, may request that such information not be made routinely available for public inspection. The franchisee must identify information it claims is confidential and explain why it is confidential. If the request for confidentiality is denied, the franchisee has five working days to seek a review of that decision from the FCC.

The franchisee shall publish and make available to each potential subscriber a schedule of all applicable fees and charges for providing cable television service and must notify subscribers that basic cable service is available.

The franchisee may, at its own discretion, waive, reduce, or suspend connection fees for specific or indeterminate periods and/or monthly service fees for periods not to exceed thirty (30) days for promotional purposes where allowed by federal regulations. The franchisee shall not, with regard to fees, discriminate or grant any preference or advantage to any person; provided, however, that the franchisee may establish a uniform bulk discount rate structure for basic cable service and associated equipment provided to ten (10) or more dwelling units within an apartment building, condominium, garden apartment, or townhouse complex under common ownership, or to ten (10) or more room units within hotels and motels, or to commercial establishments engaged in the sale of television receivers. The franchisee may offer reasonable discounts to senior citizens or other economically disadvantaged group discounts.

Upon completion of the rate proceedings, the CATV Commission shall prepare a written decision only if it disapproves the franchisee's request. All changes in subscriber fees shall be determined by the CATV Commission in accordance with the federal regulations.

In addition to any other penalties contained in this Subtitle, the CATV Commission may:

The County finds that public rights-of-way of the County to be used by a franchisee for the operation of a cable system are valuable public property acquired and maintained by the County. The County further finds that the grant of a franchise to use public rights-of-way is a valuable property right without which a franchisee would be required to invest substantial capital.

Each franchisee shall pay a franchise fee of five percent (5%) of gross revenues.

The franchisee shall file with the County, within thirty (30) days after the expiration of each of the franchisee's fiscal quarters, a financial statement clearly showing the gross revenues received by the franchisee during the preceding quarter. The quarterly portion of the franchise fee shall be payable to the County at the time such statement is filed.

In the event any franchise fee payment or recomputed amount is not made on or before the required date, the franchisee shall pay additional compensation and interest charges computed from such due date, at an annual rate equal to the commercial prime interest rate of the County's primary depository bank during the period such unpaid amount is owed, in addition to any applicable penalties or liquidated damages.

No acceptance of any payment by the County shall be construed as a release or an accord and satisfaction of any claim the County may have for further or additional sums due or for the performance of any other obligation of a franchisee, or as an acknowledgment that the amount paid is the correct amount due.

This Subtitle shall not be applicable to municipally-controlled public ways. However, any municipality may be included in the County's cable system. Upon application of the franchisee accompanied by a resolution from the municipality authorizing the extension pursuant to the provisions of this Subtitle, the Commission may extend a service area to include the area of the municipality delineated in the aforementioned application. When so approved by the Commission, all the terms and provisions of this Subtitle shall apply to the area of the municipality so designated. The County shall pay each municipality participating in the County system a share of the franchise fee revenues which the County receives from the franchisee. Said share shall be an amount equivalent to two-and-a-half percent (2.5%) of the gross revenues attributable to outlets within the municipality.

Communication with Regulatory Agencies.

Upon accepting the franchise, the franchisee shall, within sixty (60) days, file the documents required to obtain all necessary Federal, State, and local licenses, permits, and authorizations required for the conduct of its business, and shall submit monthly reports to the Director on progress in this respect until all such documents are in hand. Within three (3) months after receipt of a Certificate of Compliance from the FCC, the franchisee shall furnish the Director a construction schedule and map setting forth target dates by areas for commencement of service to subscribers. The schedule and map shall be updated whenever substantial changes become necessary. The franchisee shall complete construction of the system in the franchise territory and offer and deliver cable television service in full accordance with this Subtitle and the franchise granted hereunder to subscribers in not less than twenty percent (20%) of the occupied dwelling units within the franchise territory within one (1) year after receiving all necessary permits, authorizations, and licenses and to one hundred percent (100%), if economically feasible, within five (5) years.

Unless this requirement is waived in whole or in part by the County, by April 1 of each year for the previous calendar year, a franchisee shall submit a written report to the County, in a form directed by the County, which shall include:

Unless this requirement is waived in whole or in part by the County, twice each year (by January 31 for the previous six months ending December 31, and by July 31 for the previous six months ending June 30) a franchisee shall submit written reports to the County, in a form acceptable to the County, which shall include a summary of the franchisee's Minority Business Plan and activities thereunder, pursuant to Section 5A-117.

Unless this requirement is waived in whole or in part by the County, no later than ten (10) days after the end of each month, a franchisee shall submit a written report to the County regarding the preceding month, in a form acceptable to the County, which shall include:

Unless this requirement is waived in whole or in part by the County, the franchisee shall deliver the following special reports to the County:

A franchisee shall provide such other information or reports as the County may request for the purpose of enforcing any provision of the franchise agreement or this Subtitle.

The franchisee shall at all times maintain:

If any books, records, maps or plans, or other requested documents are too voluminous, or for security reasons cannot be copied and moved, then the franchisee may request that the inspection take place at some other location, provided that:

The franchisee shall take all steps that may be required to ensure that it is able to provide the County all information which must be provided or may be requested under this Subtitle or its franchise agreement, including by providing appropriate subscriber privacy notices. Nothing in this Section shall be read to require the franchisee to violate 47 U.S.C. Section 551. Each franchisee shall be responsible for redacting any data that federal law prevents it from providing to the County. The County retains the right to question any such redaction and to challenge it in any forum having jurisdiction over such a challenge. Records shall be kept for at least five (5) years.

The County may, at its discretion, waive in writing the requirement of any particular report specified in this Section.

All contractual liability insurance policies and certificates maintained pursuant to a franchise agreement shall include the provision of the following Hold Harmless clause:

All insurance policies shall be with sureties qualified to do business in the State of Maryland, with an A-1 or better rating of insurance by Best's Key Rating Guide, Property/Casualty Edition, and in a form acceptable to Prince George's County.

All insurance policies shall be available for review by the County, and the franchisee shall keep on file with the County certificates of insurance.

All general liability insurance policies shall name the County, its officers, boards, commissions, commissioners, agents, and employees as additional insureds and shall further provide that any cancellation or reduction in coverage shall not be effective unless thirty (30) days prior written notice thereof has been given to the County. A franchisee shall not cancel any required insurance policy without submission of proof that it has obtained alternative insurance satisfactory to the County which complies with its franchise agreement.

Failure to comply with the insurance requirements set forth in this Section shall constitute a material violation of a franchise.

Neither the provisions of this Section nor any damages recovered by the County shall be construed to limit the liability of the franchisee for damages under the franchise.

Unless otherwise provided in a cable operator's franchise agreement, the following provisions (1) through (6) shall apply:

For violation of provisions of this Subtitle or a franchise agreement entered into pursuant to this Subtitle, penalties shall be assessable against a franchisee and shall be chargeable to the franchisee's security fund in any amount up to the limits specified below, at the County's discretion:

The franchisee shall pay any penalty assessed in accordance with this Subtitle within fourteen (14) days after receipt of notice from the County of such penalty.

To the extent that penalties are applied to a franchisee under this Section, a franchisee shall not be subject to liquidated damages payable to the County for the same violation.

The County may reduce or waive any of the above-listed penalties for good cause shown.

Pending litigation or any appeal to any regulatory body or court having jurisdiction over a franchisee shall not excuse the franchisee from the performance of its obligations under this Subtitle or its franchise agreement unless a stay is obtained or the franchisee is otherwise excused from performance by operation of law. Failure of the franchisee to perform such obligations because of pending litigation or petition, in the absence of a stay issued by a forum of competent jurisdiction, may result in forfeiture or revocation pursuant to the provisions of this Subtitle and/or its franchise agreement.

Approval by the County of a transfer does not constitute a waiver or release of any of the rights of the County under this Subtitle or a franchise agreement, whether arising before or after the date of the transfer.

An open video system operator shall pay to the County a fee in lieu of the franchise fee required in Section 5A-111(b) of this Subtitle, pursuant to the procedures and conditions specified in Section 5A-111 and generally herein.

An open video system operator shall be subject to obligations pertaining to PEG access pursuant to applicable law and to the requirements herein.

An open video system operator shall be subject to all requirements of State and local law regarding authorization to use or occupy the public rights-of-way, except to the extent specifically prohibited by federal law. FCC approval of an open video system operator's certification pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 573 shall not be taken to confer upon such operator any authority to use or occupy the public rights-of-way that such operator would not otherwise possess.

A franchisee shall not refuse to employ, discharge from employment, or discriminate against any person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or age. A franchisee shall comply with all Federal, State, and local laws and regulations governing equal employment opportunities, as the same may be from time to time amended.

There is hereby established the County Cable Television Commission which shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the County Executive for terms coterminous with his and confirmed by the Council. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner of original appointment. Each member shall serve until his successor is appointed and qualified. One (1) of said members shall have practical experience and/or educational qualifications in the field of cable television; one (1) of said members shall be a Certified Public Accountant; and three (3) of said members shall be of the public at large, provided that one (1) of said members shall be a representative of the Prince George's Municipal Association. The Municipal Association nominee shall be chosen by the County Executive from a list of three (3) persons submitted by the Municipal Association. The Chairman of the Commission shall be a public member, designated by the County Executive and confirmed by the Council pursuant to Section 322 of the Charter. A member of the Commission may be removed only for cause by the County Executive, subject to approval by the Council. Any member who ceases to reside within the County shall immediately forfeit his office.

The Commission shall meet at least once a month and at such other times as deemed necessary. Three (3) members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting. The members of the Cable Television Commission shall be compensated at the rate of Three Hundred Dollars ($300) per month based on attendance at regularly scheduled meetings. This compensation shall include any additional meetings or hearings required during a given month. Said compensation shall be paid out of revenue derived from the franchise fee.

The Commission budget shall be part of the budget of the Office of Information Technology.

The Commission shall have the following general powers and duties:

The Executive Director of the Commission shall:

The Council shall have the sole authority to grant franchises; authorize the entering into of franchise agreements; modify franchise agreements; renew franchises; revoke franchises; and impose penalties pursuant to this Subtitle.

Each franchisee shall comply with all Federal, State, and local laws and regulations heretofore and hereafter adopted or established during the entire term of its franchise.

Without limiting such immunities as the County or other persons may have under applicable law, a franchisee shall have no recourse whatsoever against the County or its officials, boards, commissions, agents, or employees for any loss, costs, expense, or damage arising out of any provision or requirement of this Subtitle or because of the enforcement of this Subtitle or the County's exercise of its authority pursuant to this Subtitle, a franchise agreement, or other applicable law, unless the same shall be caused by criminal acts or by willful or gross negligence.

Notwithstanding any other provision in this Subtitle or a franchise agreement, nothing in this Subtitle or a franchise agreement shall preclude the County from exercising its police powers to enact, amend, or supplement any law or regulation governing cable communications within the County.

In the event of a major public emergency or disaster as determined by the County Executive, a franchisee shall immediately make the entire cable system, employees, and property, as may be necessary, available for use by the County or other civil defense or governmental agency designated by the County to operate the system for the term of such emergency or disaster for the emergency purposes. In the event of such use, a franchisee shall waive any claim that such use by the County constitutes a use of eminent domain, provided that the County shall return use of the entire system, employees, and property to the franchisee after the emergency or disaster has ended or has been dealt with.

Unless otherwise indicated, when the performance or doing of any act, duty, matter, or payment is required under this Subtitle or any franchise agreement, and a period of time or duration for the fulfillment of doing thereof is prescribed and is fixed herein, the time shall be computed so as to exclude the first and include the last day of the prescribed or fixed period of duration time.

If any term, condition, or provision of this Subtitle shall, to any extent, be held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder hereof shall be valid in all other respects and continue to be effective. In the event of a subsequent change in applicable law so that the provision which had been held invalid is no longer invalid, said provision shall thereupon return to full force and effect without further action by the County and shall thereafter be binding on the franchisee and the County.