SB 19 — AN ACT PROHIBITING FIBER OPTIC PROVIDERS AND CABLE COMPANIES FROM CHARGING CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE END OF THE BILLING CYCLE AFTER A SUBSCRIPTION IS CANCELLED.

Senate General Assembly CommitteeFile Bill No.

19192 January Session, 2023 LCOSenate Bill No.

543319 ReferredSenate, toMarch 23, 2023 The Committee on ENERGYEnergy ANDand TECHNOLOGYTechnology Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(ET)NEEDLEMAN ANof ACTthe PROHIBITING33rd FIBERDist., OPTICChairperson PROVIDERSof ANDthe CABLECommittee COMPANIESon FROMthe CHARGINGpart CUSTOMERSof THROUGHthe THESenate, ENDthat OFthe THEbill BILLINGought CYCLEto AFTERpass. A SUBSCRIPTION IS CANCELLED.

AN ACT PROHIBITING FIBER OPTIC PROVIDERS AND CABLE COMPANIES FROM CHARGING CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE END OF THE BILLING CYCLE AFTER A SUBSCRIPTION IS CANCELLED.

(b) [The] No company or provider may charge a subscriber for any service after the date that such subscriber [, after the date of his request for] requests disconnection, [or] downgrade [, shall not be required to paySB19 for/ anyFile service] or cancellation of such service, unless, in the case of a total disconnection or any service option requested to be LCO 5433 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\ANTONAKOSM\WS\2023SB-00019-1 of 2 SB.docx Committee Bill No.

19192 eliminated,1 [unless]SB19 theFile subscriberNo. prevents the company or provider from disconnecting service within a reasonable time.

192 pay for any service] or cancellation of such service, unless, in the case of a total disconnection or any service option requested to be eliminated, [unless] the subscriber prevents the company or provider from disconnecting service within a reasonable time.

Section 1 October 1, 2023 16-333m ET Joint Favorable LCOSB19 5433/ {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\ANTONAKOSM\WS\2023SB-File 2No. of 2 00019-R02-SB.docx }

192 2 SB19 File No.

192 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation This bill would mandate that no cable or video service provider may charge a subscriber for any length of time after they have requested the termination of their subscription.

The bill requires no additional action on the part of the state or municipalities.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None SB19 / File No.

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192 OLR Bill Analysis SB 19 AN ACT PROHIBITING FIBER OPTIC PROVIDERS AND CABLE COMPANIES FROM CHARGING CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE END OF THE BILLING CYCLE AFTER A SUBSCRIPTION IS CANCELLED.

SUMMARY This bill requires community antenna (i.e., cable) TV companies and certified competitive video services providers (e.g., Frontier or Verizon) to give customers a rebate when they request a disconnection, service downgrade, or cancellation before the last day of the monthly billing period.

The rebate must be prorated for all of the billing cycle’s days after the disconnection, downgrade, or cancellation.

Current law prohibits cable TV companies from charging customers (1) disconnection fees, (2) service downgrade fees that exceed the company’s costs for the downgrade, or (3) for any service or service option after a disconnection or downgrade request (as applicable), unless the customer prevents the company from disconnecting service in a reasonable time.

The bill broadens the law to (1) also cover certified competitive video servicesprovidersand(2)prohibit chargesfor service after a cancellation request.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2023 COMMITTEE ACTION Energy and Technology Committee Joint Favorable Yea 14 Nay 6 (03/14/2023) SB19 / File No.

192 4