BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2721
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          Date of Hearing:   May 17, 2000

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                    AB 2721 (Wesson) - As Amended:  May 10, 2000 

          Policy Committee:                              Utilities and  
          Commerce     Vote:                            9-2
                        Consumer Protection                   6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Modifies existing exemptions to the prohibition on using  
            automatic dialing-announcing devices (ADADs) without having a  
            live person announce a prerecorded message and getting consent  
            from the person called. Exemptions to this requirement include  
            calls from schools, public safety officials, and debt  
            collection.  This bill expands those exemptions, including  
            calls related to fraud and affiliates of public or  
            privately-owned utilities.

          2)Clarifies that, for those operating ADADs, a voicemail message  
            from the person called does not constitute consent to leave  
            the prerecorded message.

          3)Prohibits, after July 1, 2001, the use of automatic calling  
            equipment to make telephone connections where no person is  
            available to contact the person called, except for the  
            existing exemptions, as in (1), where a prerecorded message is  
            allowed.

           FISCAL EFFECT
           
          Potential absorbable costs, offset by fine revenue, to the  
          Public Utilities Commission and/or the Attorney General for  
          enforcement.

           COMMENTS  









                                                                  AB 2721
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           Background and Purpose  .  Automatic dialing-announcing devices  
          (ADADs) disseminate a prerecorded message to telephone numbers  
          that are automatically dialed either sequentially or at random.   
          ADADs are generally prohibited for use in California unless a  
          live operator first identifies the calling party and obtains the  
          called party's consent to listen to the prerecorded message. 

          The author also seeks to address a growing problem in the  
          telemarketing field relating to the use of predictive dialers,  
          in which a computer dials phone numbers from a database while  
          telemarketers converse with potential customers.  Predictive  
          dialers reach more people than 









































                                                                  AB 2721
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          telemarketers actually speak with in order to reduce  
          telemarketer down time.  Sometimes the connection is made and  
          the telemarketer is not yet available, so when an individual  
          answers the telephone, there is no one on the other end.  This  
          bill requires that this not occur after July 1, 2001.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)319-2081