BILL ANALYSIS
SB 402
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Date of Hearing: July 6, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Lloyd E. Levine, Chair
SB 402 (Campbell) - As Amended: June 30, 2005
SENATE VOTE : 32 - 2
SUBJECT : Telecommunications.
SUMMARY : Allows cellular phone service providers to utilize
the internet as an alternate method for obtaining express
written consent from customers for inclusion in published
directories.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires cellular telephone companies and their agents to
obtain the express written consent of customers on a separate
document before including their name and telephone number in
any directory.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, the purpose of this bill is
to make the procedure for consumers to authorize the inclusion
of their cell phone numbers in directories easier, while
maintaining consumer protections.
1)Background: AB 1733 (Reyes, Levine and Campbell), Chapter
753, Statutes of 2004,
required cell phone companies to obtain written permission from
subscribers before the consumer's phone number could be
published in a directory. AB 1733 was introduced after
information became available that several cellular phone
companies were planning on publishing a directory of customers'
numbers. At the time, many wireless telephone companies
standard contract included a specific clause giving the company
permission to publish the customers' cell phone numbers. Thus,
any cell phone subscriber unaware of the clause could have
automatically had their private cell phone number listed in a
public directory.
2)Need for this bill: The chaptered version of AB 1733 included
only one method (requiring a
SB 402
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separate signed and dated paper document) for companies to
obtain the express written consent of those customers wishing to
have their cell phone numbers included in a published directory.
Although Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 1733 because of its
important protections for cell phone customers, he did so with
some reservations. As expressed in his signing message for AB
1733, the bill did "not take into account modern business
practices developed for consumer ease and greater business
efficiencies such as digital files and over the phone
approvals." Anecdotal evidence indicates that many cell phone
subscribers utilize the internet to enter into cell phone
contracts and receive other services from cell phone providers.
Therefore it seems unduly restrictive to bar customer use of the
internet for satisfying the express written consent requirement
for inclusion in a published directory.
This bill addresses the Governor's concerns by specifically
adding the internet as an accepted method for cell phone
customers to opt-in or opt-out of participation in a published
directory. For many customers, the convenience of an internet
option may be preferable to the existing process established by
AB 1733. Likewise for businesses, the collection of this data
online versus the current paper-dependent process may be less
burdensome and result in a savings in postage and other costs
associated with the implementation of AB 1733.
3)Recent amendments: The language in SB 402 was recently
amended to add a requirement
that customers opting-in or opting-out of participation in a
wireless telephone directory via the internet receive an emailed
confirmation of their selection from their cell phone service
provider. The amendments further require cell phone service
providers to mail a hard copy of the confirmation if the
customer does not have an email address on file with the
company. These amendments ensure that customers will have an
accurate record of their decision to opt-in or opt-out of
inclusion in a published directory.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (Support)
Cingular Wireless (Support)
SB 402
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Adam Hunt / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083