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An Act Regarding Cable Television Service Outages
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §3010, sub-§1, ¶A,  as amended by PL 1993, c. 676, §1, is further amended to read:
 
A.  In the event service to any subscriber is interrupted for 62 or more consecutive hours, it will, upon request,automatically grant that subscriber a pro rata credit or rebate.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §3010, sub-§2, ¶A,  as enacted by PL 1989, c. 352, is amended to read:
 
A.  For each new subscriber, and annually thereafter, every franchisee shall cause to be mailed to each of its subscribers a notice that:
 
(1) Informs subscribers of how to communicate their views and complaints to the cable company, the proper municipal official and the Attorney General;
 
(2) States the responsibility of the Department of the Attorney General to receive consumer complaints concerning matters other than channel selection and rates; and
 
(3) States the policy regarding and method by which subscribers may requestreceive rebates or pro rata credits as described in subsection 1, paragraph A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill reduces from 6 hours to 2 hours the amount of cable service outage time after which customers can receive a prorated reimbursement for the time lost. This bill also changes existing law requiring reimbursement for lost time upon request with a requirement that the reimbursement be automatic.