Washington Report

Keeping Members Informed About Regulatory Issues

Contents
Feb. 2000

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

If you have questions about state issues, contact Jerry Cerasale (202-861-2423/jcerasale@the-dma.org) or Elizabeth Scanlon (202-861-2418/escanlon@the-dma.org).

DO-NOT-CALL LIST UPDATE

Oregon's Do-Not-Call list is available as of the end of February, 2000 and will be updated monthly. Telephone marketers have thirty days to update their calling lists.

To obtain the list, telephone marketers may register online at http://www.ornocall.com/ or call 1-877-700 NOCALL (1-877-700-6622)and pay the $120 annual fee. An order form may also be printed and mailed to the list administrator: OTA Services, LLC., Salem, OR.

NEW LAW

TELEPHONE

Delaware H.B. 135 (ch. 262, effective January 28, 2000) unless exempt, requires telephone marketers to register and file a $50,000 bond with the state 30 days prior to commencing business. The registration statement must include: if the registrant is a seller, the name, address, phone number, business name, and state of incorporation of any telephone marketing business hired by the registrant for telemarketing to Delaware consumers; if the registrant is a telephone marketer, the name, address, phone number, business name and state of incorporation of the seller that has hired the telephone marketing company.

Registrants must also provide the name, home address, date of birth, and social security number of all owners and employees; the name and address of every financial institution where telephone marketing proceeds are deposited; and representative copies of any scripts, outlines or presentation materials to be used by telephone marketers.

The bill gives consumers seven business days to cancel a telephone sale. Sales in which the consumer is given a full refund for the return of undamaged and unused goods, or the merchant guarantees full satisfaction or a cancellation of services notice; or when the consumer has at least 7 days to review goods or services and the seller processes a refund within 30 days of receipt of returned merchandise or cancellation of services are exempt.

Telephone marketers are prohibited from calling for ten years after having been requested, orally or in writing, to cease.

The bill prohibits telephone marketers from using the services of any professional delivery, courier or other pick-up service to obtain a customer's payment unless the customer is given the opportunity to inspect the merchandise before payment is collected.

PENDING LEGISLATION

PRIVACY AND DATA USE

Alabama H.B. 114 prohibits the state from selling photographs on driver licenses or personal ID's.

Alaska S.B. 232 allows the state to disclose personal information in motor vehicle records for bulk distributions for marketing or solicitations only upon the written consent of the person who is the subject of the record.

Alaska H.B. 273 requires Internet service providers to obtain consent before subscriber information is released to third parties.

Alaska H.B. 278 prohibits retailers who issue discount cards from selling, leasing, or otherwise releasing consumer information without first providing written notice of a customer's option to opt out of disclosure.

Hawaii H.B. 2628 prohibits unsolicited e-mail or fax advertisements unless, in the case of a fax, the sender establishes a toll-free telephone number that a recipient may call to notify the sender not to fax further unsolicited material; in the case of e-mail, the sender establishes a toll-free telephone number or valid sender-operated return e-mail address that the recipient may use to notify the sender not to e-mail any further unsolicited advertisements.

The subject line of each unsolicited ad must include ADV: as the first four characters; in the case of information targeted to adults, the subject line must include ADV:ADLT as the first eight characters.

Unsolicited documents must include a statement informing the recipient of the toll-free telephone number or return e-mail address, which, in the case of a fax, must be in at least nine-point type; or, in the case of e-mail, be the first text in the body of the message and of the same size as the majority of the text of the message.

Illinois S.B. 1552 requires credit card issuers who disclose marketing information about customers to provide written notice to the cardholder clearly and conspicuously describing the cardholder's right to prohibit the disclosure of marketing information.

The notice must be in 10-point type and must advise the cardholder of the option to respond either by completing a preprinted form or calling a toll-free telephone number.

Missouri S.B. 629 directs the state to issue driver licenses without a social security number to qualified applicants who have religious beliefs that prohibit the presentation and use of a social security number.

New Hampshire H.B. 1168 creates a committee to study the merits of limiting the use of social security numbers as identifiers.

New Jersey A.B. 593 requires the operator of any website or online service directed at adolescents that collects personal information to provide notice of what information is collected, how the operator uses that information, and the operator's disclosure practices for that information. Website or online service operators must provide upon parental request a description of the types of personal information collected from the adolescent, the opportunity to prohibit further online collection of information from that adolescent, and reasonable means for the parent to obtain the adolescent's personal information.

Website operators may not condition an adolescent's participation in a game, the offering of a prize, or any other activity on the adolescent's disclosing more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in the activity.

TELEPHONE

Alaska H.B. 278 requires employers to provide written notice of monitoring to each affected employee. The notice must inform the employee of the type of information that is to be collected; the means by which the information will be collected; the times at which monitoring will occur; the location of the monitoring equipment; the use of the information collected; and the identity of the employees who will be monitored.

Employers engaged in a bona fide quality control program, defined as one in which: the information collected relates to the performance of a specific task; the employer has a written standard for that task; the purpose of the monitoring is to compare the performance of employees to the performance standard; and information is collected on a reasonably equal basis; are not required to give prior notice before monitoring occurs.

Indiana S.B. 209 requires the state to maintain a listing, updated quarterly, of telephone numbers of residential, mobile, or paging device customers who do not wish to receive telephone solicitation calls.

Indiana H.B. 1037 requires telephone solicitors doing business in the state to register with the attorney general.

The bill also requires the quarterly publication of a state-maintained list of residential, mobile, or paging device telephone subscribers who do not wish to receive telephone solicitation calls. In notifying Indiana residents of the Do-Not-Call list, the division of consumer protection must also inform residents of alternative listings or do-not-call services that are available to them.

Kansas S.B. 539 requires telephone solicitors, prior to doing business in the state and annually thereafter, to consult The DMA's Telephone Preference Service and delete from their calling lists all state residents who have registered with the TPS.

List brokers are required to exclude the name, address, and telephone number(s) of consumers who appear on the TPS list.

Kansas H.B. 2784 prohibits all unsolicited consumer telephone calls to residential telephone numbers in the state and deletes the exemption for telephone marketers who have a preexisting business relationship with the called party.

Minnesota S.B. 2421 requires the state department of commerce to maintain a listing of residential, mobile, or paging customers who do not wish to receive telephone solicitation calls.

Telephone marketers are prohibited from knowingly using any method to block or otherwise circumvent a consumer's use of a caller identification service.

Mississippi S.B. 2474 requires the registration of telephone solicitors and prohibits telephone solicitors from making calls to any resident who has notified the state that he does not wish to receive telephone solicitations.

The bill limits telephone solicitation calls to the hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Telephone solicitors are prohibited from utilizing any method which blocks or otherwise circumvents a consumer's use of Caller I.D. service.

Pennsylvania S.B. 1215 requires local exchange carriers to maintain a Do-Not-Call list of customers who do not wish to receive telephone solicitation calls.

TAX

Illinois S.B. 1682 instructs the state department of revenue to enter into discussions with other states regarding the development of a multi-state, voluntary system for the collection and administration of sales and use taxes.

Illinois H.B. 4121 subjects Internet sales to tax under the state Use Tax, Service Use Tax, Service Occupation Tax and Retailers' Occupation Tax Acts.

New Mexico S.B. 356 exempts from the gross receipts tax third party call centers which process telephone or electronic orders primarily from out-of-state entities.

West Virginia S.B. 348 exempts Internet sales from the consumer sales tax.

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