A measure to exempt certain companies from paying local franchise fees for video streaming services was passed by the House. Opposed by MTA, House Bill 5123 excludes direct-to-home satellite services or streaming content and specifies that it includes only services provided by a video service provider. The bill also would specifically exempt streaming and satellite services (i.e., Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV and others) from sharing the cost of maintaining local rights-of-way (ROW), the very location of the infrastructure that these services use to distribute video content. Local governments maintain the ROW and all utilities that operate in the ROW are responsible for sharing that cost. By exempting some ROW users, HB 5123 will create an unlevel playing field, leaving traditional cable providers to pay the franchise fee to cover the costs of public access TV stations. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Michigan Townships Association
