[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
[ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ Enrolled ] |
[ Governor's Message ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] | [ House Amendment 002 ] |
[ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB0176sam002 LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 176 2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 176 by replacing 3 everything after the enacting clause with the following: 4 "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Restricted Call Registry Act. 6 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: 7 (a) "Residential subscriber" means a person or spouse 8 who has subscribed to residential telephone service from a 9 local exchange company, a guardian of the person or the 10 person's spouse, or an individual who has power of attorney 11 from or an authorized agent of the person or the person's 12 spouse. 13 (b) "Established business relationship" means the 14 existence of an oral or written arrangement, agreement, 15 contract, or other legal state of affairs between a person or 16 entity and an existing customer under which both parties have 17 a course of conduct or established pattern of activity for 18 commercial or mercantile purposes and for the benefit or 19 profit of both parties. A pattern of activity does not 20 necessarily mean multiple previous contacts. The established 21 business relationship must exist between the existing 22 customer and the person or entity directly, and does not -2- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 extend to any related business entity or other business 2 organization of the person or entity or related to the person 3 or entity or the person or entity's agent including but not 4 limited to a parent corporation, subsidiary partnership, 5 company or other corporation or affiliate. 6 (c) "Existing customer" means an individual who has 7 either: 8 (1) entered into a transaction, agreement, 9 contract, or other legal state of affairs between a 10 person or entity and a residential subscriber under which 11 the payment or exchange of consideration for any goods or 12 services has taken place within the preceding 18 months 13 or has been arranged to take place at a future time; or 14 (2) opened or maintained a debit account, credit 15 card account, or other revolving credit or discount 16 program offered by the person or entity and has not 17 requested the person or entity to close such account or 18 terminate such program. 19 (d) "Registry" means the Restricted Call Registry 20 established under this Act. 21 (e) "Telephone solicitation" means any voice 22 communication over a telephone line from a live operator, 23 through the use of an autodialer or autodialer system, as 24 defined in Section 5 of the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, 25 or by other means for the purpose of encouraging the purchase 26 or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, 27 but does not include communications: 28 (1) to any residential subscriber with that 29 subscriber's prior express invitation or permission when 30 a voluntary 2-way communication between a person or 31 entity and a residential subscriber has occurred with or 32 without an exchange of consideration; 33 (2) by or on behalf of any person or entity with 34 whom a residential subscriber has an established business -3- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 relationship which has not been terminated in writing by 2 either party and which is related to the nature of the 3 established business relationship; 4 (3) by or on behalf of any person or entity with 5 whom a residential subscriber is an existing customer, 6 unless the customer has stated to the person or entity or 7 the person or entity's agent that he or she no longer 8 wishes to receive the telemarketing sales calls of the 9 person or entity, or unless the nature of the call is 10 unrelated to the established business relationship with 11 the existing customer; 12 (4) by or on behalf of an entity organized under 13 Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) of the 14 Internal Revenue Code, while the entity is engaged in 15 fundraising to support the charitable or not-for-profit 16 purpose for which the entity was established; 17 (5) by or on behalf of a person licensed by the 18 State of Illinois to carry out a trade, occupation, or 19 profession who either: 20 (A) is setting or attempting to set a face to 21 face appointment for actions relating to that 22 licensed trade, occupation, or profession within 23 this State; or 24 (B) is encouraging or attempting to encourage 25 the purchase or rental of, or investment in, 26 property, goods, or services, which cannot be 27 completed, and for which payment or authorization of 28 payment is not required, until after a written or 29 electronic agreement is signed by the residential 30 subscriber; or 31 (6) until July 1, 2005, by or on behalf of any 32 entity over which the Federal Communications Commission 33 or the Illinois Commerce Commission has regulatory 34 authority to the extent that, subject to that authority, -4- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 the entity is required to maintain a license, permit, or 2 certificate to sell or provide telecommunications 3 service, as defined in Section 13-203 of the Public 4 Utilities Act, while the entity is engaged in telephone 5 solicitation for inter-exchange telecommunications 6 service, as defined in Section 13-205 of the Public 7 Utilities Act, or local exchange telecommunications 8 service, as defined in Section 13-204 of the Public 9 Utilities Act. 10 Section 10. Prohibited calls. Beginning July 1, 2002, no 11 person or entity may make or cause to be made any telephone 12 solicitation calls to any residential subscriber more than 45 13 days after the residential subscriber's telephone number or 14 numbers first appear on the Registry. 15 Section 15. Complaints. The Illinois Commerce Commission 16 shall receive telephone solicitation complaints from 17 residential subscribers to object to such calls. Complaints 18 shall be taken by any means deemed appropriate by the 19 Illinois Commerce Commission. Complaints against persons or 20 entities that are licensed, certificated, or permitted by a 21 State or federal agency shall be forwarded for investigation 22 by the Illinois Commerce Commission to the appropriate agency 23 if the respective agency has the power to investigate such 24 matters. All other complaints shall be investigated by the 25 Illinois Commerce Commission. The standards for referrals and 26 investigations shall be set forth in rules adopted by the 27 Illinois Commerce Commission. 28 Section 20. Registry; establishment and maintenance. 29 (a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish and 30 provide for the operation of a Restricted Call Registry, 31 which shall contain a list of the telephone numbers of -5- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 residential subscribers who do not wish to receive telephone 2 solicitation calls. The Illinois Commerce Commission may 3 contract with a private vendor to establish and maintain the 4 Registry if the contract requires the vendor to provide the 5 Registry in a printed hard copy format, in an electronic 6 format, and in any other format prescribed by the Illinois 7 Commerce Commission. 8 (b) No later than January 1, 2002, the Illinois 9 Commerce Commission shall adopt rules consistent with this 10 Act that the Illinois Commerce Commission deems necessary and 11 appropriate to fully implement this Act. The rules shall 12 include, at a minimum, methods by which any person or entity 13 desiring to make telephone solicitation calls may obtain 14 access to the Registry to avoid calling the telephone numbers 15 of residential subscribers included in the Registry. 16 (c) The fee for obtaining the Registry shall be set 17 forth in rules adopted by the Illinois Commerce Commission. 18 The fee may not exceed $500 annually. All copies requested in 19 a printed hard copy format shall be assessed a per page fee 20 to be determined by rules adopted by the Illinois Commerce 21 Commission. 22 (d) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall update the 23 Registry and make information in the Registry available on a 24 quarterly basis in an electronic format and, if deemed 25 appropriate by the Illinois Commerce Commission, in one or 26 more other formats. 27 (e) If the Federal Communications Commission or Federal 28 Trade Commission establishes a single national database of 29 telephone numbers of subscribers who object to receiving 30 telephone solicitations under Title 47, Section 227(c)(3) of 31 the United States Code, this State shall discontinue the 32 Registry. 33 (f) Information in the Registry is confidential and 34 shall be afforded reasonable privacy protection except as -6- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 necessary for compliance with Sections 10 and 25 and this 2 Section or in a proceeding or action under Section 35 or 40. 3 The information is not a public record under the Freedom of 4 Information Act. 5 (g) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall periodically 6 obtain subscription listings of residential subscribers in 7 this State who have arranged to be included in any national 8 do-not-call list and add those names to the Registry. 9 Section 25. Enrollment. 10 (a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall provide 11 notice to residential subscribers of the establishment of the 12 Registry. 13 (b) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish any 14 method deemed appropriate for a residential subscriber to 15 notify the Illinois Commerce Commission that the residential 16 subscriber wishes to be included in the Registry. 17 (c) There shall be no cost to a residential subscriber 18 for inclusion in the Registry. 19 (d) A residential subscriber in the Registry shall be 20 deleted from the Registry upon the residential subscriber's 21 written request. 22 (e) Enrollment in the Registry is effective from the 23 start of the quarter following the date of enrollment for a 24 term of 5 years or until the residential subscriber 25 disconnects or changes his or her telephone number, whichever 26 occurs first. The residential subscriber is responsible for 27 notifying the Illinois Commerce Commission of any changes in 28 his or her telephone number. The Illinois Commerce Commission 29 shall use its best efforts to notify enrolled residential 30 subscribers before the end of the 5-year enrollment term of 31 the option to re-enroll. Residential subscribers who do not 32 re-enroll before the end of the 5-year term shall be removed 33 from the Registry. -7- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 Section 30. Public notification. The Illinois Commerce 2 Commission shall work with local exchange telecommunications 3 companies to disseminate to their customers information about 4 the availability of and instructions for requesting 5 educational literature from the Illinois Commerce Commission. 6 The Illinois Commerce Commission may enter into agreements 7 with those companies for the dissemination of the educational 8 literature. Telecommunications companies shall disseminate 9 the educational literature at least once per year in both a 10 message contained in customers' bills and a notice in the 11 information section of all telephone directories distributed 12 to customers. The Illinois Commerce Commission shall include, 13 on its Internet web site, information to customers regarding 14 their right to be included in the Registry and the various 15 methods, including notice to the Illinois Commerce 16 Commission, of being included in the Registry. The Illinois 17 Commerce Commission shall have this literature developed for 18 dissemination to the public no later than March 1, 2002. 19 Section 35. Violation; relief. 20 (a) The Illinois Commerce Commission may initiate 21 administrative proceedings in accordance with rules adopted 22 under this Act relating to a knowing and willful violation of 23 Section 10. 24 (b) If it is determined after a hearing that a person 25 has knowingly and willfully violated one or more provisions 26 of this Section, the Illinois Commerce Commission may assess 27 a fine not to exceed $2,500 for each violation. 28 (c) Any proceeding conducted under this Section is 29 subject to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. 30 (d) Nothing in this Section may be construed to restrict 31 any right that any person may have under any other law or at 32 common law. 33 (e) No action or proceeding may be brought under this -8- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 Section: 2 (1) more than one year after the person bringing 3 the action knew or should have known of the occurrence of 4 the alleged violation; or 5 (2) more than one year after the termination of any 6 proceeding or action arising out of the same violation or 7 violations by the State of Illinois, whichever is later. 8 (f) The remedies, duties, prohibition, and penalties in 9 this Act are not exclusive and are in addition to all other 10 causes of action, remedies, and penalties provided by law. 11 (g) There is created in the State treasury a special 12 fund to be known as the Restricted Call Registry Fund. All 13 fees and fines collected in the administration and 14 enforcement of this Act shall be deposited into the Fund. 15 Moneys in the Fund shall, subject to appropriation, be used 16 by the Illinois Commerce Commission for implementation, 17 administration, and enforcement of this Act. 18 Section 40. Exemption. A person or entity may not be 19 held liable for violating this Act if: 20 (1) the person or entity has obtained copies of the 21 Registry and each updated Registry from the Illinois 22 Commerce Commission and has established and implemented 23 written policies and procedures related to the 24 requirements of this Act; 25 (2) the person or entity has trained its personnel 26 in the requirements of this Act; 27 (3) the person or entity maintains records 28 demonstrating compliance with subdivisions (1) and (2) of 29 this Section and the requirements of this Act; and 30 (4) any subsequent telephone solicitation is the 31 result of error. 32 Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding -9- LRB9201785WHcsam01 1 Section 5.545 as follows: 2 (30 ILCS 105/5.545 new) 3 Sec. 5.545. The Restricted Call Registry Fund. 4 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 5 becoming law.".