BILL NUMBER: SB 402 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 9, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Campbell
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
An act to amend Section 2891.1 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 402, as amended, Campbell. Telecommunications.
Under existing law, the Federal Communications Commission licenses
and partially regulates providers of commercial mobile radio
service, including providers of cellular radiotelephone service,
broadband Personal Communications Services (PCS), and digital
Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) services (collectively, mobile
telephony service providers). Under existing law, no state or local
government may regulate the entry of, or the rates charged by, any
commercial mobile radio service, but is generally not prohibited from
regulating the other terms and conditions of commercial mobile radio
service.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations.
Existing law authorizes the commission to regulate telecommunications
services and rates of telephone corporations, except to the extent
regulation of commercial mobile radio service is preempted by federal
regulation.
Existing law prohibits a telephone corporation selling or
licensing lists of residential subscribers, from including the
telephone number of any subscriber assigned an unpublished or
unlisted access number, as defined, without his or her written waiver
of this protection. Existing law prohibits a provider of mobile
telephony services, as defined, or any affiliate or agent of the
provider, providing the name and dialing number of a subscriber for
inclusion in a directory or directory database, from including the
dialing number of any subscriber without first obtaining the express
consent of that subscriber. Existing law establishes certain
requirements for the provider's form for obtaining the subscriber's
express consent, including that the form be a separate document that
is not attached to any other document, that the form be signed by the
subscriber, and if the subscriber may be billed for unsolicited
calls or text messages from a telemarketer, a requirement that the
form unambiguously disclose that by consenting to having his or her
dialing number included in a publicly available directory, the
subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited
calls or text messages.
This bill would revise the existing requirements for a provider of
mobile telephony services to obtain the subscriber's express consent
for inclusion of the dialing number of the subscriber in a
directory, by additionally allowing the express consent to be an
affirmative response made on a separate field on an Internet Web site
where there is no default. The bill would provide that if
express consent is given in this manner, that the provider of mobile
telephony services would be required to send a confirmation notice to
the subscriber's electronic mail address, or to a subscriber's
postal mail address should the subscriber not have an
electronic mail account.
Existing law prohibits a subscriber from being charged for making
the choice to not be listed in a directory.
This bill would instead prohibit a subscriber from being charged
for making the choice to not be listed in a publicly available
directory assistance database.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2891.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
2891.1.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a telephone corporation selling
or licensing lists of residential subscribers shall not include the
telephone number of any subscriber assigned an unlisted or
unpublished access number. A subscriber may waive all or part of the
protection provided by this subdivision through written notice to the
telephone corporation.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 2891, a provider of mobile telephony
services, or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a provider,
providing the name and dialing number of a subscriber for inclusion
in any directory of any form, or selling the contents of any
directory database, or any portion or segment thereof, shall not
include the dialing number of any subscriber without first obtaining
the express consent of that subscriber. The express consent shall
meet all of the following requirements:
(1) It shall be one of the following:
(A) A separate document that is signed and dated by the
subscriber, and that is not attached to any other document.
(B) An affirmative response made on a separate field on an
Internet Web site where there is no default. The provider of
mobile telephony services shall send a confirmation notice to the
subscriber's electronic mail address, or to a subscriber's postal
mail address if the subscriber does not have an electronic mail
account.
(2) It shall be unambiguous, legible, and conspicuously disclose
that, by opting in, the subscriber is consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers and the subscriber's dialing number may be included in a
publicly available directory.
(3) If, under the subscriber's calling plan, the subscriber may be
billed for receiving unsolicited calls or text messaging from a
telemarketer, the provider's form shall include an unambiguous and
legible disclosure statement that, by consenting to have the
subscriber's dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers or included in a publicly available directory, the
subscriber may incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited
calls or text messages.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a subscriber of mobile
telephony services from voluntarily entering into an agreement for
the placement of his or her name and mobile telephony dialing number
in any advertising program if the agreement satisfies the express
consent requirements of this section.
(c)
(d) A subscriber who provides express prior
consent pursuant to subdivision (b) may revoke that consent at any
time. A provider of mobile telephony services shall comply with the
subscriber's request to opt out within a reasonable period of time,
not to exceed 60 days.
(d)
(e) A subscriber shall not be charged for
making the choice to not have their name and mobile telephony
dialing number be listed in a publicly available directory
assistance database.
(e)
(f) This section does not apply to the
provision of telephone numbers to the following parties for the
purposes indicated:
(1) To a collection agency, to the extent disclosures made by the
agency are supervised by the commission, exclusively for the
collection of unpaid debts.
(2) (A) To any law enforcement agency, fire protection agency,
public health agency, public environmental health agency, city or
county emergency services planning agency, or private for-profit
agency operating under contract with, and at the direction of, one or
more of these agencies, for the exclusive purpose of responding to a
911 call or communicating an imminent threat to life or property.
(B) Any information or records provided to a private for-profit
agency pursuant to this subdivision shall be held in confidence by
that agency and by any individual employed by or associated with that
agency. This information or these records shall not be open to
examination for any purpose not directly connected with the
administration of the services specified in subdivision (e) of
Section 2872 or this paragraph.
(3) To a lawful process issued under state or federal law.
(4) To a telephone corporation providing service between service
areas for the provision to the subscriber of telephone service
between service areas, or to third parties for the limited purpose of
providing billing services.
(5) To a telephone corporation to effectuate a customer's request
to transfer the customer's assigned telephone number from the
customer's existing provider of telecommunications services to a new
provider of telecommunications services.
(6) To the commission pursuant to its jurisdiction and control
over telephone and telegraph corporations.
(f)
(g) Every deliberate violation of this
section is grounds for a civil suit by the aggrieved subscriber
against the organization or corporation and its employees responsible
for the violation.
(g)
(h) For purposes of this section,
"unpublished or unlisted access number" means a telephone, telex,
teletex, facsimile, computer modem, or any other code number that is
assigned to a subscriber by a telephone or telegraph corporation for
the receipt of communications initiated by other telephone or
telegraph customers and that the subscriber has requested that the
telephone or telegraph corporation keep in confidence.
(h)
(i) No telephone corporation, nor any
official or employee thereof, shall be subject to criminal or civil
liability for the release of customer information as authorized by
this section.