Report Title:
Unfair Trade Practices; Telemarketing
Description:
Requires director of DCCA to establish and publish listing of consumers' telephone numbers who request they not receive outbound telephone calls. Makes it an unfair trade practice to make outbound telephone calls to a number that appears in the listing of "no solicitation" telephone numbers.
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2663 |
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TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to telemarketing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Chapter 481P, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§481P- Listing of "no solicitation" telephone numbers; no telephone solicitation special fund, established. (a) The director shall establish, maintain, and publish a listing of telephone numbers of consumers who request not to receive outbound telephone calls. Upon receipt of a request from a consumer to be added to the listing of "no solicitation" telephone numbers, the telephone number of the consumer shall be placed on the listing. The director shall notify consumers how to exercise their rights under this section and may adopt rules under chapter 91 as necessary to implement this section.
(b) The director shall make a printed hard copy of the listing of "no solicitation" telephone numbers available upon request and payment of a fee. The director shall establish the amount of fee to be paid; provided that the amount shall not exceed that necessary to cover the cost for obtaining a copy of the listing. The printed hard copy of the listing of "no solicitation" telephone numbers shall be updated quarterly. The director also may offer copies of the listing in other formats, including electronic online versions.
(c) There is established in the state treasury the no telephone solicitation special fund into which shall be deposited all fees collected under this section. The director shall administer the fund for the purposes of this section. All unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the no telephone solicitation special fund at the close of each fiscal year that are deemed by the director of finance to be in excess of the moneys necessary to carry out the purposes of this section over the next following fiscal year shall lapse to the credit of the state general fund."
SECTION 2. Section 481P-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:
""Director" means the director of commerce and consumer affairs."
SECTION 3. Section 481P-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§481P-3[]] Abusive telemarketing acts or practices. It is an abusive telemarketing act or practice and a violation of this chapter for any seller or telephone solicitor to engage in the following conduct:
(1) Threaten, intimidate, or use profane or obscene language;
(2) Request a fee to remove derogatory information from or improve a consumer's credit history or credit record until:
(A) The time frame in which the seller or telephone solicitor has represented that all of the goods or services will be provided to that consumer has expired; and
(B) The seller or telephone solicitor has provided the consumer with documentation in the form of a credit report from a credit reporting agency demonstrating that the promised results have been achieved, the report having been issued more than six months after the results were achieved. Nothing in this chapter should be construed to affect the requirement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681b, that a consumer report may only be obtained for a specified permissible purpose;
(3) Request or receive payment from a consumer to recover or otherwise aid in the return of money or any other item lost by the consumer in a telemarketing transaction, until seven business days after the money or other item is delivered to the consumer;
(4) Request or actually receive payment of any fee in advance of obtaining a loan or other extension of credit when a high likelihood of success has been represented to the consumer by the seller or telephone solicitor;
(5) Cause the telephone to ring more than ten times in an outbound telephone call;
(6) Engage any consumer repeatedly or continuously with behavior a reasonable person would deem to be annoying, abusive, or harassing;
(7) Initiate an outbound telephone call to: a consumer, when the person has stated previously that the consumer does not wish to receive telephone calls from that seller or telephone solicitor; or a telephone number that appears in the most current quarterly listing of "no solicitation" telephone numbers published by the director pursuant to section 481P- ; provided that the seller or telephone solicitor will not be liable for violating this paragraph if:
(A) It has established and implemented written procedures to comply with this paragraph, which procedures shall meet the minimum standards set forth in 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(e)(2);
(B) It has trained its personnel in the procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (A);
(C) The seller, or telephone solicitor acting on behalf of the seller, has maintained and recorded lists of persons who may not be contacted in compliance with this paragraph; and
(D) The call is the result of error;
(8) Initiate an outbound telephone call to a consumer's residence at any time other than between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time at the location of the consumer called."
SECTION 4. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.
SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on October 1, 2002.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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