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Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

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CHAPTER XIII.
PUBLIC ACCESS COMMISSION

Sec. A6-165. Established; purpose.

There is hereby established a commission known as the Public Access Commission, the general purpose of which is to provide policy guidance for matters concerning access to community service channels on community antenna television systems (CATV) franchised in Santa Clara County as directed by the Board of Supervisors; however, such purpose is not to preempt any duty, responsibility or other activity which is a legal mandate of any jurisdiction franchising or regulating CATV systems.

(Ord. No. NS-300.317, § 1, 4-8-80)

Sec. A6-166. Membership.

The Commission shall consist of six members appointed as follows: One member appointed by the Board of Supervisors; one member appointed by the City of Cupertino; one member appointed by the City of Campbell; two members appointed by the City of San Jose; and one member appointed by the County Board of Education.

Each Commissioner shall have a term of two years or until a successor is appointed and qualified; however, two of the initial members shall be entitled to serve for one year and four of the initial members shall be entitled to serve for two years. The staggered terms of the initial members shall be determined by drawing lots. A member may be appointed to successive terms. A vacancy shall exist whenever a member fails to attend more than three consecutive regular meetings of the Commission without good cause entered in its minutes or is unable or unwilling to serve, or resigns. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority for the balance of the term.

(Ord. No. NS-300.317, § 1, 4-8-80)

Sec. A6-167. Organization.

The Commission shall organize itself in accordance with Section 506 of the Charter of Santa Clara County. It shall prepare bylaws, which shall provide for election of officers, establishment of the date, time and place of regular meetings and rules for the conduct of its meetings; and, after approval of the bylaws by the Board of Supervisors, such bylaws shall govern the Commission.

(Ord. No. NS-300.317, § 1, 4-8-80)

Sec. A6-168. Powers and duties.

The powers and duties of the Commission shall be as follows:

(a) To identify problems and needs of the community concerning community service channel programming.

(b) To establish regulations in addition to those adopted by the franchisee, in furtherance of Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations governing programming on a community service channel concerning obscenity, lotteries, equal time and fairness doctrine.

(c) To hear and resolve disputes concerning the use and facilitation of the community service channel and public access programming.

(d) To establish guidelines and policies concerning access standards for the organization selected to provide public access programming over CATV systems.

(e) To select a successor organization to operate the public access programming in the event the organization selected by the Board of Supervisors is unable, unwilling or incapable of conducting public access programming.

(f) To approve the budget for expenditures from the public trust fund by the organization selected to provide public access programming.

(g) To resolve conflicting demands for and establish policy for reserving available transmission time on community service channels.

(h) To direct the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to release moneys held in any public access trust fund established for the organization selected to facilitate public access programming.

(Ord. No. NS-300.317, § 1, 4-8-80)

Sec. A6-169. Executive secretary.

The executive secretary to the Commission, which need not be a full-time position, shall be appointed by the County Executive and shall be under his supervision. The executive secretary shall attend all meetings of the Commission and shall provide staff assistance to the commission. The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall be ex officio secretary of the Commission and shall provide secretarial assistance to the Commission under his supervision.

(Ord. No. NS-300.317, § 1, 4-8-80)

Sec. A6-170. Expenditures by Commission.

No expenditures or requisitions for services and supplies for Commissioners shall be made and no claims for reimbursement shall be submitted for payment without the approval of a majority of the members of the Commission. The Commission shall not be authorized to spend any moneys from any public access trust fund on activities of the Commission. The secretary shall be responsible for preparing and processing all expenditures, requisitions and claims.

(Ord. No. NS-300.317, § 1, 4-8-80)

Secs. A6-171--A6-179. Reserved.

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