BILL ANALYSIS
SB 500
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Date of Hearing: June 4, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Lou Correa, Chair
SB 500 (Torlakson) - As Amended: May 24, 2002
SENATE VOTE : 30-4
SUBJECT : Retail merchandise, utilities, and cable television:
delivery, service, and repair: times.
SUMMARY : Requires specified retail, cable television and
utility companies to actively provide consumers with a mutually
agreeable four-hour time window for service, and outlines
procedures for appropriate notification if the service
appointment is delayed.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Eliminates the option of cable television and utility
companies to notify customers of their right to a four-hour
service window via mail, so that these companies are required
to inform customers of that right when they call for service.
2)Requires that specified retail, cable television and utility
companies may set a four-hour service window only with the
agreement of the consumer.
3)Permits notification by a company of a service delay either in
person or by phone, but if a consumer is notified by phone,
the company must leave a phone number which the consumer can
call to arrange for a new appointment.
4)Exempts specified retail, cable television and utility
companies from legal action if the company misses an
appointment due to forces beyond it's control and the company
makes a diligent attempt to notify the consumer, either in
person or by telephone, of the delay.
5)Increases the penalty for specified retail, cable television
and utility companies that fail to meet the four-hour service
window without due cause to a maximum of $600.
EXISTING LAW requires retailers with 25 or more employees to
actively offer and provide customers with a four-hour window
during which repairs or deliveries will be made. Cable
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television and utility companies are required only to disclose a
consumers' right to a four-hour window either when the consumer
calls or via mail.
Existing law generally provides that a specified retail, cable
television or utility company which fails to provide service
during the four-hour window without just cause, appropriate
notification, or a second two-hour service window, can be liable
for actual damages up to $500.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed nonfiscal.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill . This bill is intended to bring specified
retail, cable television and utility companies up to the same
standards of consumer protection in providing timely and
reliable home delivery, repair or connection services.
In practice, this bill will require cable television and utility
companies to notify consumers at the time of scheduling of
their right to a four-hour service window, as retailers are
currently required to do. It removes the option to
periodically inform consumers of this right by mail instead of
providing the notification at the time of scheduling. This
bill requires that specified retail, cable television and
utility companies set four-hour service windows in cooperation
with the consumer. It also permits notification of a delay in
person or by phone in conjunction with a call-back number for
setting a new appointment. The penalty for missing the
appointment is raised by $100 to a maximum of $600 in damages
in small claims court.
2)Arguments in support . According to the author, cable
television and utility consumers "should be made aware of the
four-hour window at the time they request service connection
or repair in order to minimize inconvenience, including lost
wages." Supporters argue that this provision simply requires
"utility and cable service providers to abide by the same
reasonable offer of a four-hour service period currently
required of retailers." Furthermore, the Office of Ratepayer
Advocates "believes that the changes? proposed by SB 500 will
save ratepayers the wages lost from waiting all day for the
utility to arrive and also improve repair response times in
California by making the utilities more accountable to
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consumers."
3)Administrative regulations set a partial precedent . Pacific
Bell has been required by the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), as part of the resolution of a complaint,
to modify its "611" repair service to alert customers that
four-hour windows are available.
4)Double-referral . This bill has been doubled-referred to the
Utilities and Commerce Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
California Public Utilities Commission
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer's Union
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
The Utility Reform Network (TURN)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), AFL-CIO
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301