PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 23, 2006
Franchise Reform Act of 2006 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to designate the State Commission of each state as the franchising authority for any state-issued franchise for the provision of cable or video service in that state. Outlines application requirements for any entity or person seeking to obtain a state-issued certificate of franchise authority. Exempts existing franchises from such application requirements. Requires the holder of a state-issued certificate to pay each municipality in which the holder provides cable or video service a franchise fee of five percent of the gross revenues of such holder.
Requires certificate holders to: (1) comply with applicable customer service standards until there are two or more providers offering service in a municipality; (2) provide municipalities, upon request, with capacity to allow public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access channels for noncommercial programming (with a required minimum number of such channels); and (3) provide for the interconnection of cable and video systems within a municipality for the purpose of providing PEG programming.
Requires local municipalities to allow certificate holders to install, construct, and maintain necessary communications networks within public rights-of-way.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Prohibits certificate holders from denying access to cable or video service to any group of residential subscribers because of the income of the residents in the local area.
People & committees
Sen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey [R-TX] · R–TX
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2989 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2989 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2989 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2989 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.