HomeMy WebLinkAbout19-861RESOLUTION NO. 19-$61
A RESOLUTION OF TIIE CITY OP DENTON OPPOSING BOTH SENAT� BILL 1152 AND
HOUSE BILL 3535 WHICH WERE R�CENTLY INTRODt10ED IN THE 86t�' TEXAS
LLGISLATURE, RELATING TO THE PAYM�NT OF CERTAIN FEES TO
MUNICIPALITIES BY ENTITIES THAT PROVIDE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND
CAI�LE OR VID�O S�RVICES; AND PROVIDING AN EFF�CTIVE DATE.
WIIEREAS, both Senate Bill 1152 and IIouse Bi113535, which are companion bills, would
eliminate existing right-of way rental fees for cable companies by allowing a company to elect to
pay either telephone franchise fees under the access line compensation system or cable franchise
fees under the state-issued cable franchise system, but not both as the companies must currently
do; and
WHT'REAS, cities have a duty and obligation to manage public rights-of-way as trustees
for the public who own the rights-of-way, and as such, cities currently collect reasonable fees for
the use of their public rights-of-way as a cost of doing business; and
WHEREAS, the aforementioned bills would force city taxpayers to subsidize the cost of
doing business for the companies and give away publicly-owned property for less than fair market
value; and
WHEREAS, under the calculation of the aforementioned bills, the City of Denton would
have lost revenue on behalf of the taxpayers in the amount of $709,079 in 2017 and $669,548 in
2018; and
WHEREAS, the Denton City Council finds it is in the best interest of its citizens and the
City to oppose the passage of SB 1152 and HB 3535; NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY RESOLVES:
����, I'[f;,DI�J 1. The City Council adopts and incorporates the above referenced findings in
this resolution. �
SECTION 2. The City of Denton opposes both SB 1152 as proposed in the Texas State Senate
and HB 3535 as proposed in the Texas State House of Representatives, relating to the payment of
certain fees to municipalities by entities that provide telecommunications and cable or video services.
SECTION 3. The Mayor, the City Manager, and/or the City Manager's designee are
authorized to communicate the City's opposition to members of the Texas legislature, in general,
and/or to the appropriate legislative committees, committee members, and other persons or groups.
,SECTION 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately from and afler its date of passage.
The motion to a;���p�a����,��: this resolution was made by __ ����� ��"� ��'������_� �� �'" _ and
seconded b ����,� � ����m� the resolution was passed and approved by
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Mayor, Chris Watts:
Gerard Hudspeth, District 1:
Keely G. Briggs, District 2:
Don Duff, District 3:
John Ryan, District 4:
Deb Armintor, At Large Place 5:
Paul Meltzer, At Large Place 6:
Abstain Absent
�� ED this the ���p���r� day of �'���� ���� 2019.
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A SED AND APPRO
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�� � CHRIS WATTS, MAYOR
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ATTEST:
ROSA RIOS, CITY SECRETARY
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BY: _ � � ��. �r� ����_.._.�.� �n �� ��� �����
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
AARON LEAL, CITY ATTORNEY
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BY: �. �
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