103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4078
 
Introduced , by Rep. Martin J. Moylan
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:



220 ILCS 5/22-501

 Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Pay For Only The Channels You Want Act. Provides that, to the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall not charge a subscriber for any channel, service, or equipment (rather than service or equipment) that the subscriber has not affirmatively requested or affirmatively agreed to by name. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law and to the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall not deny the ability of any subscriber to refuse to be charged for any particular channel and shall allow any subscriber to remove any specific channel and associated carriage fees from the subscriber's monthly bill. Provides that cable and video providers shall allow any subscriber to remove any channel and all associated carriage fees assessed to that subscriber via a website or toll-free telephone number. Provides that cable and video providers shall, for every new or renewing subscriber, list all channels offered in every particular service to all subscribers and allow the subscriber to approve or reject each channel and the associated carriage fee for that channel. Effective immediately.



LRB103 32041 SPS 60952 b


 
 
A BILL FOR
 


HB4078LRB103 32041 SPS 60952 b



1 AN ACT concerning regulation.


2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3represented in the General Assembly:



4 Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Pay For Only 
5The Channels You Want Act.

6 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing 
7Section 22-501 as follows:

8 (220 ILCS 5/22-501)
9 Sec. 22-501. Customer service and privacy protection. All 
10cable or video providers in this State shall comply with the 
11following customer service requirements and privacy 
12protections. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to an 
13incumbent cable operator prior to January 1, 2008. For 
14purposes of this paragraph, an incumbent cable operator means 
15a person or entity that provided cable services in a 
16particular area under a franchise agreement with a local unit 
17of government pursuant to Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois

18Municipal Code or Section 5-1095 of the Counties Code on 
19January 1, 2007.
A master antenna television, satellite master 
20antenna television, direct broadcast satellite, multipoint 
21distribution service, and other provider of video programming 
22shall only be subject to the provisions of this Article to the 
 
 
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1extent permitted by federal law. 
2 The following definitions apply to the terms used in this 
3Article:
4 "Basic cable or video service" means any service offering 
5or tier that
includes the retransmission of local television 
6broadcast signals.
7 "Cable or video provider" means any person or entity 
8providing cable service or video service pursuant to 
9authorization under (i) the Cable and Video Competition Law of 
102007; (ii) Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code; 
11(iii) Section 5-1095 of the Counties Code; or (iv) a master 
12antenna television, satellite master antenna television, 
13direct broadcast satellite, multipoint distribution services, 
14and other providers of video programming, whatever their 
15technology. A cable or video provider shall not include a 
16landlord providing only broadcast video programming to a 
17single-family home or other residential dwelling consisting of 
184
units or less.
19 "Franchise" has the same meaning as found in 47 U.S.C. 
20522(9).
21 "Local unit of government" means a city, village, 
22incorporated town, or a county.
23 "Normal business hours" means those hours during which 
24most similar businesses in the geographic area of the local 
25unit of government are open to serve customers. In all cases, 
26"normal business hours" must include some evening hours at 
 
 
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1least one night per week or some weekend hours.
2 "Normal operating conditions" means those service 
3conditions that are within the control of cable or video 
4providers. Those conditions that are not within the control of 
5cable or video providers include, but are not limited to, 
6natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, 
7telephone network outages, and severe or unusual weather 
8conditions. Those conditions that are ordinarily within the 
9control of cable or video providers include, but are not 
10limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate 
11increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and 
12maintenance or upgrade of the cable service or video service 
13network.
14 "Service interruption" means the loss of picture or sound 
15on one or more cable service or video service on one or more 
16cable or video channels.
17 "Service line drop" means the point of connection between 
18a premises and the cable or video network that enables the 
19premises to receive cable service or video service.
20 (a) General customer service standards:
21  (1) Cable or video providers shall establish general 
22 standards related to customer service, which shall 
23 include, but not be limited to, installation, 
24 disconnection, service and repair obligations; appointment 
25 hours and employee ID requirements; customer service 
26 telephone numbers and hours; procedures for billing, 
 
 
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1 charges, deposits, refunds, and credits; procedures for 
2 termination of service; notice of deletion of programming 
3 service; changes related to transmission of programming; 
4 changes or increases in rates; the use and availability of 
5 parental control or lock-out devices; the use and 
6 availability of an A/B switch if applicable; complaint 
7 procedures and procedures for bill dispute resolution; a 
8 description of the rights and remedies available to 
9 consumers if the cable or video provider does not 
10 materially meet its
customer service standards; and 
11 special services for customers with visual, hearing, or 
12 mobility disabilities.
13  (2) Cable or video providers' rates for each level of 
14 service, rules, regulations, and policies related to its 
15 cable service or video service described in paragraph (1) 
16 of this subsection (a)
must be made available to the 
17 public and displayed clearly and conspicuously on the 
18 cable or video provider's site on the Internet. If a 
19 promotional price or a price for a specified period of 
20 time is offered, the cable or video provider shall display 
21 the price at the end of the promotional period or 
22 specified period of time clearly and conspicuously with 
23 the display of the promotional price or price for a 
24 specified period of time. The cable or video provider 
25 shall provide this information upon request.
26  (3) Cable or video providers shall provide notice 
 
 
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1 concerning their general customer service standards to all 
2 customers. This notice shall be offered when service is 
3 first activated and upon request thereafter. The 
4 information in the notice shall also be available on the 
5 cable or video providers' websites and shall include all 
6 of the information specified in paragraph (1) of this 
7 subsection (a), as well as the following: a listing of 
8 services offered by the cable or video providers, which 
9 shall clearly describe programming for all services and 
10 all levels of service; the rates for all services and 
11 levels of service; a telephone number
through which 
12 customers may subscribe to, change, or terminate service, 
13 request customer service, or seek general or billing 
14 information; instructions on the use of the cable or video 
15 services; and a description of rights and remedies that 
16 the cable or video providers shall make available to their 
17 customers if they do not materially meet the general 
18 customer service standards described in this Act.
19 (b) General customer service obligations:
20  (1) Cable or video providers shall render reasonably 
21 efficient service, promptly make repairs, and interrupt 
22 service only as necessary and for good cause, during 
23 periods of minimum use of the system and for no more than 
24 24 hours.
25  (2) All service representatives or any other person 
26 who contacts customers or potential customers on behalf of 
 
 
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1 the cable or video provider shall have a visible 
2 identification card with their name and photograph and 
3 shall orally identify themselves upon first contact with 
4 the customer. Customer service representatives shall 
5 orally identify themselves to callers immediately 
6 following the greeting during each telephone contact with 
7 the public.
8  (3) The cable or video providers shall: (i) maintain a 
9 customer service facility within the boundaries of a local 
10 unit of government staffed by customer service 
11 representatives that have the capacity to accept payment, 
12 adjust bills, and respond to repair, installation, 
13 reconnection, disconnection, or other service calls and 
14 distribute or receive converter boxes, remote control 
15 units, digital stereo units, or other equipment related to 
16 the provision of cable or video service; (ii) provide 
17 customers with bill payment facilities through retail, 
18 financial, or other commercial institutions located within 
19 the boundaries of a local unit of government; (iii) 
20 provide an address, toll-free telephone number or 
21 electronic address to accept bill payments and 
22 correspondence and provide secure collection boxes for the 
23 receipt of bill payments and the return of equipment, 
24 provided that if a cable or video provider provides secure 
25 collection boxes, it shall provide a printed receipt when 
26 items are deposited; or (iv) provide an address, toll-free 
 
 
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1 telephone number, or electronic address to accept bill 
2 payments and correspondence and provide a method for 
3 customers to return equipment to the cable or video 
4 provider at no cost to the customer.
5  (4) In each contact with a customer, the service 
6 representatives or any other person who contacts customers 
7 or potential customers on behalf of the cable or video 
8 provider shall state the estimated cost of the service, 
9 repair, or installation orally prior to delivery of the 
10 service or before any work is performed, shall provide the 
11 customer with an oral statement of the total charges 
12 before terminating the telephone call or other contact in 
13 which a service is ordered, whether in-person or over the 
14 Internet, and shall provide a written statement of the 
15 total charges before leaving the location at which the 
16 work was performed. In the event that the cost of service 
17 is a promotional price or is for a limited period of time, 
18 the cost of service at the end of the promotion or limited 
19 period of time shall be disclosed.
20  (5) Cable or video providers shall provide customers a 
21 minimum of 30 days' written notice before increasing rates 
22 or eliminating transmission of programming and shall 
23 submit the notice of any rate increase to the local unit of 
24 government in advance of distribution to customers, 
25 provided that the cable or video provider is not in 
26 violation of this provision if the elimination of 
 
 
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1 transmission of programming was outside the control of the 
2 provider, in which case the provider shall use reasonable 
3 efforts to provide as much notice as possible, and any 
4 rate decrease related to the elimination of transmission 
5 of programming shall be applied to the date of the change.
6  (6) Cable or video providers shall provide clear 
7 visual and audio reception that meets or exceeds 
8 applicable Federal Communications Commission technical 
9 standards. If a customer experiences poor video or audio 
10 reception due to the equipment of the cable or video 
11 provider, the cable or video provider shall promptly 
12 repair the problem at its own expense.
13 (c) Bills, payment, and termination:
14  (1) Cable or video providers shall render monthly 
15 bills that are clear, accurate, and understandable.
16  (2) Every residential customer who pays bills directly 
17 to the cable or video provider shall have at least 28 days 
18 from the date of the bill to pay the listed charges.
19  (3) Customer payments shall be posted promptly. When 
20 the payment is sent by United States mail, payment is 
21 considered paid on the date it is postmarked.
22  (4) Cable or video providers may not terminate 
23 residential service for nonpayment of a bill unless the 
24 cable or video provider furnishes notice of the 
25 delinquency and impending termination at least 15 days 
26 prior to the proposed termination. Notice of proposed 
 
 
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1 termination shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the 
2 customer to whom service is billed. Notice of proposed 
3 termination shall not be mailed until the 24th day after 
4 the date of the bill for services. Notice of delinquency 
5 and impending termination may be part of a billing 
6 statement only if the notice is designed to be 
7 conspicuous. The cable or video providers may not assess a 
8 late fee prior to the 24th day after the date of the bill 
9 for service.
10  (5) Every notice of impending termination shall 
11 include all of the following: the name and address of 
12 customer; the amount of the delinquency; the date on which 
13 payment is required to avoid termination; and the 
14 telephone number of the cable or video provider's service 
15 representative to make payment arrangements and to provide 
16 additional information about the charges for failure to 
17 return equipment and for reconnection, if any.
18  (6) Service may only be terminated on days when the 
19 customer is able to reach a service representative of the 
20 cable or video providers, either in person or by 
21 telephone.
22  (7) Any service terminated by a cable or video 
23 provider without good cause shall be restored without any 
24 reconnection fee, charge, or penalty; good cause for 
25 termination includes, but is not limited to, failure to 
26 pay a bill by the date specified in the notice of impending 
 
 
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1 termination, payment by check for which there are 
2 insufficient funds, theft of service, abuse of equipment 
3 or personnel, or other similar subscriber actions.
4  (8) Cable or video providers shall cease charging a 
5 customer for any or all services within one
business day 
6 after it receives a request to immediately terminate 
7 service or on the day requested by the customer if such a 
8 date is at least 5 days from the date requested by the 
9 customer. Nothing in this subsection (c) shall prohibit 
10 the provider from billing for charges that the customer 
11 incurs prior to the date of termination. Cable or video 
12 providers shall issue a credit no later than the 
13 customer's next billing cycle following the determination 
14 that a credit is warranted. Cable or video providers shall 
15 issue a refund or return a deposit promptly, but not later 
16 than either the customer's next billing cycle following 
17 resolution of the request or 30 days, whichever is 
18 earlier, or the return of equipment, if any, whichever is 
19 later.
20  (9) The customers or subscribers of a cable or video 
21 provider shall be allowed to disconnect their service at 
22 any time within the first 30 days after subscribing to or 
23 upgrading the service. Within this 30-day period, cable or 
24 video providers shall not charge or impose any fees or 
25 penalties on the customer for disconnecting service, 
26 including, but not limited to, any installation charge or 
 
 
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1 the imposition of an early termination charge, except the 
2 cable or video provider may impose a charge or fee to 
3 offset any rebates or credits received by the customer and 
4 may impose monthly service or maintenance charges, 
5 including pay-per-view and premium services charges, 
6 during such 30-day period.
7 (d) Response to customer inquiries:
8  (1) Cable or video providers will maintain a toll-free 
9 telephone access line that is
available to customers 24 
10 hours a day, 7
days a week to accept calls regarding 
11 installation, termination, service, and complaints. 
12 Trained, knowledgeable, qualified service representatives 
13 of the cable or video providers will be available to 
14 respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal 
15 business hours. Customer service representatives shall be 
16 able to provide credit, waive fees, schedule appointments, 
17 and change billing cycles. Any difficulties that cannot be 
18 resolved by the customer service representatives shall be 
19 referred to a supervisor who shall make his or her best 
20 efforts to resolve the issue immediately. If the 
21 supervisor does not resolve the issue to the customer's 
22 satisfaction, the customer shall be informed of the cable 
23 or video provider's complaint procedures and procedures 
24 for billing dispute resolution and given a description of 
25 the rights and remedies available to customers to enforce 
26 the terms of this Article, including the customer's rights 
 
 
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1 to have the complaint reviewed by the local unit of 
2 government, to request mediation, and to review in a court 
3 of competent jurisdiction.
4  (2) After normal business hours, the access line may 
5 be answered by a service or an automated response system, 
6 including an answering machine. Inquiries received by 
7 telephone or e-mail after normal business hours shall be 
8 responded to by a trained service representative on the 
9 next business day. The cable or video provider shall 
10 respond to a written billing inquiry within 10 days of 
11 receipt of the inquiry.
12  (3) Cable or video providers shall provide customers 
13 seeking non-standard installations with a total 
14 installation cost estimate and an estimated date of 
15 completion. The actual charge to the customer shall not 
16 exceed the estimated cost without the written consent of 
17 the customer.
18  (4) If the cable or video provider receives notice 
19 that an unsafe condition exists with respect to its 
20 equipment, it shall investigate such condition immediately 
21 and shall take such measures as are necessary to remove or 
22 eliminate the unsafe condition. The cable or video 
23 provider shall inform the local unit of government 
24 promptly, but no later than 2 hours after it receives 
25 notification of an unsafe condition that it has not 
26 remedied.
 
 
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1  (5) Under normal operating conditions, telephone 
2 answer time by the cable or video provider's customer 
3 representative, including wait time, shall not exceed 30 
4 seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to 
5 be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed 30 seconds. 
6 These standards shall be met no less than 90% of the time 
7 under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly 
8 basis. The cable or video provider shall not be required 
9 to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure 
10 compliance with these telephone answering standards unless 
11 an historical record of complaints indicates a clear 
12 failure to comply. 
13  (6) Under normal operating conditions, the cable or 
14 video provider's customers will receive a busy signal less 
15 than 3% of the time.
16 (e) Under normal operating conditions, each of the 
17following standards related to installations, outages, and 
18service calls will be met no less than 95% of the time measured 
19on a quarterly basis:
20  (1) Standard installations will be performed within 7 
21 business days after an order has been placed. "Standard" 
22 installations are those that are located up to 125 feet 
23 from the existing distribution system.
24  (2) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the 
25 cable or video providers, the cable or video providers 
26 will begin working on "service interruptions" promptly and 
 
 
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1 in no event later than 24 hours after the interruption is 
2 reported by the customer or otherwise becomes known to the 
3 cable or video providers. Cable or video providers must 
4 begin actions to correct other service problems the next 
5 business day after notification of the service problem and 
6 correct the problem.
7  (3) The "appointment window" alternatives for 
8 installations, service calls, and other installation 
9 activities will be either a specific time or, at a 
10 maximum, a 4-hour
time block during evening, weekend, and 
11 normal business hours. The cable or video provider may 
12 schedule service calls and other installation activities 
13 outside of these hours for the express convenience of the 
14 customer.
15  (4) Cable or video providers may not cancel an 
16 appointment with a customer after the close of business on 
17 the business day prior to the scheduled appointment. If 
18 the cable or video provider's representative is running 
19 late for an appointment with a customer and will not be 
20 able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the customer 
21 will be contacted. The appointment will be rescheduled, as 
22 necessary, at a time that
is convenient for the customer, 
23 even if the rescheduled appointment is not within normal 
24 business hours.
25 (f) Public benefit obligation:
26  (1) All cable or video providers offering service 
 
 
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1 pursuant to the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007, 
2 the Illinois Municipal Code, or the Counties Code shall 
3 provide a free service line drop and free basic service to 
4 all current and future public buildings within their 
5 footprint, including, but not limited to, all local unit 
6 of government buildings, public libraries, and public 
7 primary and secondary schools, whether owned or leased by 
8 that local unit of government ("eligible buildings"). Such 
9 service shall be used in a manner consistent with the 
10 government purpose for the eligible building and shall not 
11 be resold.
12  (2) This obligation only applies to those cable or 
13 video service providers whose cable service or video 
14 service systems pass eligible buildings and its cable or 
15 video service is generally available to residential 
16 subscribers in the same local unit of government in which 
17 the eligible building is located. The burden of providing 
18 such service at each eligible building shall be shared by 
19 all cable and video providers whose systems pass the 
20 eligible buildings in an equitable and competitively 
21 neutral manner, and nothing herein shall require 
22 duplicative installations by more than one cable or video 
23 provider at each eligible building. Cable or video 
24 providers operating in a local unit of government shall 
25 meet as necessary and determine who will provide service 
26 to eligible buildings under this subsection (f). If the 
 
 
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1 cable or video providers are unable to reach an agreement, 
2 they shall meet with the local unit of government, which 
3 shall determine which cable or video providers will serve 
4 each eligible building. The local unit of government shall 
5 bear the costs of any inside wiring or video equipment 
6 costs not ordinarily provided as part of the cable or 
7 video provider's basic offering.
8 (g) After the cable or video providers have offered 
9service for one year, the cable or video providers shall make 
10an annual report to the Commission, to the local unit of 
11government, and to the Attorney General that it is meeting the 
12standards specified in this Article, identifying the number of 
13complaints it received over the prior year in the State and 
14specifying the number of complaints related to each of the 
15following: (1) billing, charges, refunds, and credits; (2) 
16installation or termination of service; (3) quality of service 
17and repair; (4) programming; and (5) miscellaneous complaints 
18that do not fall within these categories.
19 (h) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or 
20video providers shall offer the lowest-cost basic cable or 
21video service as a stand-alone service to residential 
22customers at reasonable rates. Cable or video providers shall 
23not require the subscription to any service other than the 
24lowest-cost basic service or to any telecommunications or 
25information service, as a condition of access to cable or 
26video service, including programming offered on a per channel 
 
 
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1or per program basis. Cable or video providers shall not 
2discriminate between subscribers to the lowest-cost basic 
3service, subscribers to other cable services or video 
4services, and other subscribers with regard to the rates 
5charged for cable or video programming offered on a per 
6channel or per program basis.
7 (i) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or 
8video providers shall ensure that charges for changes in the 
9subscriber's selection of services or equipment shall be based 
10on the cost of such change and shall not exceed nominal amounts 
11when the system's configuration permits changes in service 
12tier selection to be effected solely by coded entry on a 
13computer terminal or by other similarly simple method.
14 (j) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or 
15video providers shall have a rate structure for the provision 
16of cable or video service that is uniform throughout the area 
17within the boundaries of the local unit of government. This 
18subsection (j) is not intended to prohibit bulk discounts to 
19multiple dwelling units or to prohibit reasonable discounts to 
20senior citizens or other economically disadvantaged groups.
21 (k) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or 
22video providers shall not charge a subscriber for any channel, 
23service, or equipment that the subscriber has not 
24affirmatively requested or affirmatively agreed to by name. 
25For purposes of this subsection (k), a subscriber's failure to 
26refuse a cable or video provider's proposal to provide a 
 
 
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1channel, service, or equipment shall not be deemed to be an 
2affirmative request for such channel, service, or equipment.
3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law and to the 
4extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers 
5shall not deny the ability of any subscriber to refuse to be 
6charged for any particular channel and shall allow any 
7subscriber to remove any specific channel and associated 
8carriage fees from the subscriber's monthly bill. Cable and 
9video providers shall allow any subscriber to remove any 
10channel and all associated carriage fees assessed to that 
11subscriber via a website or toll-free telephone number. Cable 
12and video providers shall, for every new or renewing 
13subscriber, list all channels offered in every particular 
14service to all subscribers and allow the subscriber to approve 
15or reject each channel and the associated carriage fee for 
16that channel. 
17 (l) No contract or service agreement containing an early 
18termination clause offering residential cable or video 
19services or any bundle including such services shall be for a 
20term longer than 2 years. Any contract or service offering 
21with a term of service that contains an early termination fee 
22shall limit the early termination fee to not more than the 
23value of any additional goods or services provided with the 
24cable or video services, the amount of the discount reflected 
25in the price for cable services or video services for the 
26period during which the consumer benefited from the discount, 
 
 
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1or a declining fee based on the remainder of the contract term.
2 (m) Cable or video providers shall not discriminate in the 
3provision of services for the hearing and visually impaired, 
4and shall comply with the accessibility requirements of 47 
5U.S.C. 613. Cable or video providers shall deliver and pick-up 
6or provide customers with pre-paid shipping and packaging for 
7the return of converters and other necessary equipment at the 
8home of customers with disabilities. Cable or video providers 
9shall provide free use of a converter or remote control unit to 
10mobility impaired customers.
11 (n)(1) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or 
12video providers shall comply with the provisions of 47 U.S.C. 
13532(h) and (j). The cable or video providers shall not 
14exercise any editorial control over any video programming 
15provided pursuant to this Section, or in any other way 
16consider the content of such programming, except that a cable 
17or video provider may refuse to transmit any leased access 
18program or portion of a leased access program that
contains 
19obscenity, indecency, or nudity and may consider such content 
20to the minimum extent necessary to establish a reasonable 
21price for the commercial use of designated channel capacity by 
22an unaffiliated person. This subsection (n) shall permit cable 
23or video providers to enforce prospectively a written and 
24published policy of prohibiting programming that the cable or 
25video provider reasonably believes describes or depicts sexual 
26or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive 
 
 
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1manner as measured by contemporary community standards.
2  (2) Upon customer request, the cable or video provider 
3 shall, without charge, fully scramble or otherwise fully 
4 block the audio and video programming of each channel 
5 carrying such programming so that a person who is not a 
6 subscriber does not receive the channel or programming.
7  (3) In providing sexually explicit adult programming 
8 or other programming that is indecent on any channel of 
9 its service primarily dedicated to sexually oriented 
10 programming, the cable or video provider shall fully 
11 scramble or otherwise fully block the video and audio 
12 portion of such channel so that a person who is
not a 
13 subscriber to such channel or programming does not receive 
14 it.
15  (4) Scramble means to rearrange the content of the 
16 signal of the programming so that the programming cannot 
17 be viewed or heard in an understandable manner.
18 (o) Cable or video providers will maintain a listing, 
19specific to the level of street address, of the areas where its 
20cable or video services are available. Customers who inquire 
21about purchasing cable or video service shall be informed 
22about whether the cable or video provider's cable or video 
23services are currently available to them at their specific 
24location.
25 (p) Cable or video providers shall not disclose the name, 
26address, telephone number or other personally identifying 
 
 
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1information of a cable service or video service customer to be 
2used in mailing lists or to be used for other commercial 
3purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business 
4unless the cable or video provider has provided to the 
5customer a notice, separately or included in any other 
6customer service notice, that clearly and conspicuously 
7describes the customer's ability to prohibit the disclosure. 
8Cable or video providers shall provide an address and 
9telephone number for a customer to use without a toll charge to 
10prevent disclosure of the customer's name and address in 
11mailing lists or for other commercial purposes not reasonably 
12related to the conduct of its business to other businesses or 
13affiliates of the cable or video provider. Cable or video 
14providers shall comply with the consumer privacy requirements 
15of Section 26-4.5 of the Criminal Code of 2012, the Restricted 
16Call Registry Act, and 47 U.S.C. 551 that are in effect as of 
17June 30, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-9)
and as 
18amended thereafter.
19 (q) Cable or video providers shall implement an informal 
20process for handling inquiries from local units of government 
21and customers concerning billing issues, service issues, 
22privacy concerns, and other consumer complaints. In the event 
23that an issue is not resolved through this informal process, a 
24local unit of government or the customer may request 
25nonbinding mediation with the cable or video provider, with 
26each party to bear its own costs of such mediation. Selection 
 
 
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1of the mediator will be by mutual agreement, and preference 
2will be given to mediation services that do not charge the 
3consumer for their services. In the event that the informal 
4process does not produce a satisfactory result to the customer 
5or the local unit of government, enforcement may be pursued as 
6provided in subdivision (4) of subsection (r) of this Section.
7 (r) The Attorney General and the local unit of government 
8may enforce all of the customer service and privacy protection 
9standards of this Section with respect to complaints received 
10from residents within the local unit of government's 
11jurisdiction, but it may not adopt or seek to enforce any 
12additional or different customer service or performance 
13standards under any other authority or provision of law.
14  (1) The local unit of government may, by ordinance, 
15 provide a schedule of penalties for any material breach of 
16 this Section by cable or video providers in addition to 
17 the penalties provided herein. No monetary penalties shall 
18 be assessed for a material breach if it is out of the 
19 reasonable control of the cable or video providers or its 
20 affiliate. Monetary penalties adopted in an ordinance 
21 pursuant to this Section shall apply on a competitively 
22 neutral basis to all providers of cable service or video 
23 service within the local unit of government's 
24 jurisdiction. In
no event shall the penalties imposed 
25 under this subsection (r) exceed $750 for each day of the 
26 material breach, and these penalties shall not exceed 
 
 
HB4078- 23 -LRB103 32041 SPS 60952 b


1 $25,000 for each occurrence of a material breach per 
2 customer.
3  (2) For purposes of this Section, "material breach" 
4 means any substantial
failure of a cable or video service 
5 provider to comply with service quality and other 
6 standards specified in any provision of this Act. The 
7 Attorney General or the local unit of government shall 
8 give the cable or video provider written notice of any 
9 alleged material breaches of this Act and allow such 
10 provider at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to 
11 remedy the specified material breach.
12  (3) A material breach, for the purposes of assessing 
13 penalties, shall be deemed to have occurred for each day 
14 that a material breach has not been remedied by the cable 
15 service or video service provider after the expiration of 
16 the period specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection 
17 (r)
in each local unit of government's jurisdiction, 
18 irrespective of the number of customers affected.
19  (4) Any customer, the Attorney General, or a local 
20 unit of government may pursue alleged violations of this 
21 Act by the cable or video provider in a court of competent 
22 jurisdiction. A cable or video provider may seek judicial 
23 review of a decision of a local unit of government 
24 imposing penalties in a court of competent jurisdiction. 
25 No local unit of government shall be subject to suit for 
26 damages or other relief based upon its action in 
 
 
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1 connection with its enforcement or review of any of the 
2 terms, conditions, and rights contained in this Act except 
3 a court may require the return of any penalty it finds was 
4 not properly assessed or imposed.
5 (s) Cable or video providers shall credit customers for 
6violations in the amounts stated herein. The credits shall be 
7applied on the statement issued to the customer for the next 
8monthly billing cycle following the violation or following the 
9discovery of the violation. Cable or video providers are 
10responsible for providing the credits described herein and the 
11customer is under no obligation to request the credit. If the 
12customer is no longer taking service from the cable or video 
13provider, the credit amount will be refunded to the customer 
14by check within 30 days of the termination of service. A local 
15unit of government may, by ordinance, adopt a schedule of 
16credits payable directly to customers for breach of the 
17customer service standards and obligations contained in this 
18Article, provided the schedule of customer credits applies on 
19a competitively neutral basis to all providers of cable 
20service or video service in the local unit of government's 
21jurisdiction and the credits are not greater than the credits 
22provided in this Section.
23  (1) Failure to keep an appointment or to notify the 
24 customer prior to the close of business on the business 
25 day prior to the scheduled appointment: $25.00.
26  (2) Violation of customer service and billing 
 
 
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1 standards in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section: 
2 $25.00 per occurrence.
3  (3) Violation of the bundling rules in subsection
(h) 
4 of this Section: $25.00 per month.
5 (t) The enforcement powers granted to the Attorney General 
6in Article XXI of this
Act shall apply to this Article, except 
7that the Attorney General may not seek penalties for violation 
8of this Article
other than in the amounts specified herein. 
9Nothing in this Section shall limit or affect the powers of the 
10Attorney General to enforce the provisions of Article XXI
of 
11this
Act or the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business 
12Practices Act.
13 (u) This Article
applies to all cable and video providers 
14in the State, including but not limited to those operating 
15under a local franchise as that term is used in 47 U.S.C. 
16522(9), those operating under authorization pursuant to 
17Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code, those 
18operating under authorization pursuant to Section 5-1095 of 
19the Counties Code, and those operating under a State-issued 
20authorization pursuant to Article XXI of this
Act.

21(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 
2298-45, eff. 6-28-13.)


23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
24becoming law.