Vermont § 518 - Retransmission fees; reporting

§ 518. Retransmission fees; reporting

• (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide the Attorney General with information necessary
  to investigate certain conduct within the cable and broadcast network industries to
  determine whether unfair methods of competition are occurring in violation of 9 V.S.A.
  chapter 63. (b) Reporting. Annually, beginning on January 1, 2015, each commercial broadcasting station doing
  business with a Vermont cable company shall report to the Attorney General any fees
  charged for program content retransmitted on the cable network under a retransmission
  consent agreement entered into pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 325, for the prior calendar year. (c) Investigations. The Attorney General may investigate retransmission fees charged by commercial broadcasting
  stations, pursuant to his or her investigatory powers established under 9 V.S.A. chapter
  63. (d) Public disclosure. The information received by the Attorney General under subsection (b) of this section
  shall be kept confidential and is exempt from public inspection and copying under
  the Public Records Act, unless otherwise ordered by a court. (e) Enforcement. A violation of this section constitutes unfair competition under 9 V.S.A. § 2453. (f) Rules. The Attorney General may adopt rules he or she deems necessary to implement this section.
  The rules, as well as any finding of unfair competition with regard to retransmission
  consent fees, shall not be inconsistent with the rules, regulations, and decisions
  of the Federal Communications Commission and the federal courts interpreting the Communications
  Act of 1934, as amended. (Added 2013, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. June 16, 2014; amended 2015, No. 41, § 15, eff. June 1, 2015.)