Jeff Bayne
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP
Jeff Bayne is a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP. His practice focuses on advocating for states, local governments, and other public interest clients on telecommunications and energy issues. He has represented state and local government before the Federal Communications Commission and federal courts on issues related to small cell siting, right-of-way regulation and compensation, broadband deployment, and municipal and statewide cable franchises. Jeff received a 2018 Impact Award for Outstanding Advocates from the National Hispanic Media for the firm’s pro bono representation in the litigation over the FCC’s 2018 repeal of its 2015 open internet rules, and he has also been recognized as a “Rising Star” in Energy & Natural Resources law by Super Lawyers.
ADA Compliance-Updates on the DOJ Rulings and Closed Captioning for Municipal Websites and PEG Channels
We had told our members back in December to start budgeting, just in case we must need to start captioning. What new information has come out that Municipalities and PEG stations need to be concerned about regarding Closed Captioning? Are PEG Channels still safe not to caption as stated under the FCC rulings, or is this something that is now a must now because of the DOJ's Rulings? How long do we have to comply with these rulings? What can we do if a station just doesn't have the funds to make this happen? What should we concentrate on when it comes to Captioning. (Public Meetings, Sports, Concerts, Etc.) Panelists: Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; Jeff Bayne, partner, Spiegel & McDiarmid: Moderator: Dave Garb, Legislative Chair, JAG
Understanding Franchising and What to Know When Renegotiating
What are the main differences between a State Franchise, and the ones negotiated at the municipal level? Which one is a better choice, and can a municipality have a say on which one they prefer? Nationally, what is being added or taken away in negotiated franchise agreements? Franchise monies are going down due to the streaming industry, what can we do during negotiations to curb this? We hear of bills being introduced around the country that are trying to force streamers to pay a per subscriber fee to municipalities. How is this going and if successful, what does that mean for the local access station? Panelists: Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; Ken Fellman, Esq., founder and partner, Wilson Williams Fellman Dittman; Jeff Bayne, partner, Spiegel & McDiarmid; Moderator: Dave Garb, Legislative Chair, JAG