Cable Consumer Protection Act of 1991

Cable Consumer Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize States, when cable companies have no effective competition and upon certification by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the FCC, in areas not subject to State regulation, to ensure that rates for all cable services (including all fees, charges, and deposits) are reasonable.

Defines "effective competition" to mean that: (1) fewer than 30 percent of the households in the cable community subscribe to the cable service of such cable system; or (2) the cable community is served by at least two unaffiliated multichannel video programming distributors each of which makes available comparable video programming to at least 80 percent of the households in such community, and the number of households subscribing to programming services offered by multichannel video programming distributors other than the largest multichannel video programming distributor exceeds 30 percent of such households.

Sets forth criteria for the FCC or a State to consider in determining whether the rate for a cable service offered by a cable operator is reasonable, such as the number of signals included, direct costs paid by the cable operator to provide such signals, revenues received by the cable operator from a supplier of programming or advertising carried as part of the service, the profitability of the cable service, whether the cable operator has substantially complied with the terms of the franchise agreement, the rates charged by the cable operator for other cable services in the franchise area, and local conditions that may affect the reasonableness of a rate.

Sets forth procedures under which a cable operator or other interested party may file a petition challenging the regulation of cable service rates by a State.

Prohibits any cable operator from unreasonably discriminating among subscribers or potential subscribers of cable service in connection with the services offered or the rates charged for such services.

Requires the FCC to: (1) require cable operators to file, at least annually, such financial information as may be needed to administer and enforce this Act; and (2) establish minimum technical standards relating to cable systems' technical operation and signal quality, including testing procedures and protocols used to measure compliance with such standards. Authorizes States and franchising authorities to impose higher standards than the Federal Government for customer service.

Directs the FCC to establish (and regularly review) customer service standards that ensure that all subscribers are fairly served, including: (1) requirements governing cable system office hours and customer service representative availability; (2) installations, outages, service calls, and response time; (3) billing and collection practices; (4) disclosure of all available services, tiers, prices, rates, and rights available to customers; and (5) subscriber complaint resolution procedures.

Prohibits a video programmer in which a cable operator has an attributable interest and who licenses video programming for distribution from: (1) unreasonably refusing to deal with any multichannel video programming distributor; or (2) discriminating in the price, terms, and conditions in the sale of the video programmer's programming among cable systems, cable operators, or other multichannel video programming distributors if such action would have the effect of impeding retail competition.

Limits the liability of a franchising authority to injunctive and declaratory relief, with exceptions.

Sets forth provisions with respect to franchise renewal and grounds for denial of the renewal of a franchise.

Establishes "must-carry" requirements under which a cable operator would be required to carry small, local independent and public stations as a condition of keeping its compulsory license of broadcast television programming under the Copyright Act.