SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1500
91ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
TED WEDEL, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 441, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to landlord agreements with telecommunication providers.
Section A. Chapter 441, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 441.238, to read as follows:
441.238. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
(1) "Multiple dwelling unit", any residential structure that contains four or more separate residential units;
(2) "Owner", the record owner or owners, and the beneficial owner and owners when other than the record owner, of the freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of rents, receiver, personal representative, trustee, lessee, agent, or any other person in control of a dwelling unit; and
(3) "Provider", a business that holds a certification of services authority to provide local exchange telecommunication service from the Missouri public service commission or a business that holds a cable franchise with a local governing body pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 541.
2. An owner who has entered into an agreement with a provider to grant the provider an exclusive easement or an exclusive right to provide service to the owner's multiple dwelling units may, at the owner's option and without penalty, void the exclusivity provisions of the existing agreement if the owner intends to enter into an agreement with another provider who requests to serve the owner's multiple dwelling units. The owner may then negotiate an agreement with the requesting provider, provided that the subsequent agreements with the requesting provider and the incumbent provider do not place the owner in a worse position financially than the original agreement with the incumbent provider.
3. If the requesting provider and the owner cannot agree on an appropriate rate of compensation or cannot determine the amount of compensation that is necessary to not place the owner in a worse position financially than the original agreement with the incumbent provider, an arbitrator shall be appointed to determine the appropriate level of compensation due to the owner. The arbitrator shall be an individual who is mutually agreeable to the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, the requesting provider may file a petition with the state circuit court to request that a judge appoint the arbitrator. The terms and conditions of the original agreement with the incumbent provider shall be made available to the arbitrator. The cost of such a petition and arbitrator shall be borne by the requesting provider.
4. After August 28, 2002, a provider and an owner shall not enter into any new agreement, renew any existing agreement, or add any multiple dwelling units to an existing agreement that gives the provider an exclusive easement or an exclusive right to provide service to the owner's multiple dwelling units.
5. Any provision of an existing agreement that grants a provider an exclusive easement or an exclusive right to provide service to an owner's multiple dwelling units shall expire five years from the date the agreement was executed or on April 1, 2005, whichever first occurs.
6. An owner shall not enter into an agreement, and a provider shall not enforce an agreement, that is designed to circumvent rules prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to cable home run wiring or inside wiring that is used to provide telecommunication services to tenants.
7. Nothing in this section shall limit the jurisdiction of the public service commission regarding private shared
tenant services pursuant to section 392.520, RSMo.
Missouri House of Representatives