Every cable television system operating under a franchise or license awarded pursuant to Section 53066 shall, by July 1, 1984, and thereafter, offer to make a lockbox available to each of its subscribers. The monthly service charge for a lockbox shall not exceed fifty cents ($0.50), except that on January 1, 1985, and annually thereafter, the maximum monthly service charge shall be increased by an amount equal to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index.

A city, county, or city and county is not precluded by this or any other provision of law from requiring, as a condition to the granting of a franchise, that a cable television system make lockboxes available to subscribers without charge.

For purposes of this section, a “lockbox” is a parental control device, either in the form of a separate unit or incorporated into a descrambler or other piece of equipment used to provide cable television service, which is made operational by a key or by a code, and which enables the subscriber to prevent the viewing of any pay channel offering adult programming.

(Added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 264, Sec. 1.)