MR. PRESIDENT:
The Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Affairs, to which was referred Senate
Bill No. 209, has had the same under consideration and begs leave to report the same back to
the Senate with the recommendation that said bill be AMENDED as follows:
SOURCE: Page 1, line 5; (00)CR020901.1. -->
Page 1, delete lines 5 through 17, begin a new paragraph and insert:
" Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "consumer" means an actual or
a prospective purchaser, lessee, or recipient of consumer goods or
services.
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "consumer goods or services"
means real property or tangible or intangible personal property
that is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes,
including:
(1) property intended to be attached to or installed in real
property without regard to whether it is attached or installed;
(2) cemetery lots;
(3) timeshare estates;
(4) services related to the property; and
(5) credit cards.
Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "doing business in Indiana"
refers to a business that conducts telephone sales calls from a
location in Indiana or from other states or nations to consumers
located in Indiana.
Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "listing" refers to the no sales
solicitation listing published by the office of the utility consumer
counselor that lists the names of persons who do not wish to receive
telephone sales calls.
Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "office" refers to the office of the
utility consumer counselor.
Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "telephone solicitor" means an
individual, a firm, an organization, a partnership, an association,
or a corporation, including affiliates and subsidiaries, doing
business in this state, except those subject to 47 CFR parts 64 and
68, that makes or causes to be made a telephone sales call.
Sec. 7. (a) As used in this chapter, "telephone sales call" means
a call made by a telephone solicitor to a consumer for the purpose
of:
(1) soliciting a sale of consumer goods or services;
(2) soliciting an extension of credit for consumer goods or
services; or
(3) obtaining information that will or may be used for the
direct solicitation of a sale of consumer goods or services or
an extension of credit for such purposes.
(b) The term does not include any of the following:
(1) A telephone call made in response to an express request of
the person called.
(2) A telephone call made primarily in connection with an
existing debt or contract for which payment or performance
has not been completed at the time of the call.
(3) A telephone call made to a person with whom the
telephone solicitor has had a business relationship within the
past eighteen (18) months.
(4) A telephone call made to a person for whom a referral has
been received from an existing customer or client of the
telephone solicitor. The telephone solicitor must provide the
name of the referring customer or client to the person called
at the time the call is made.
(5) A telephone call made on behalf of a business that during
a year makes not more than five hundred (500) calls:
(A) not otherwise described in this subsection; and
(B) to persons located not more than ten (10) miles from
the primary business location of the business.
The telephone solicitor must provide the address of the
primary business location of the business at the time the call
is made.
(6) A telephone call by a newspaper publisher or the
publisher's agent or employee in connection with that
business.
(7) A telephone call made on behalf of a charitable
organization.
(8) A telephone call made on behalf of a political candidate or
political party.
(9) A telephone call made by a person licensed under
IC 25-34.1 who calls an actual or prospective seller, lessor, or
purchaser of real property.
Sec. 8. (a) The office shall publish a quarterly listing of
telephone numbers of persons who request not to be solicited by
telephone.
(b) The office shall place the telephone number of a residential,
mobile, or telephonic paging device telephone subscriber on the
listing if:
(1) the subscriber notifies the office according to a procedure
established by the office; and
(2) the office receives a ten dollar ($10) initial listing charge
for each telephone number listed.
The listing for each telephone number must be renewed annually
by the office upon receipt of a renewal notice and payment of a five
dollar ($5) renewal fee for each telephone number.
(c) The office shall update the listing upon receipt of initial
consumer subscriptions or renewals.
(d) The office shall adopt rules under
IC 4-22-2
to establish a fee
for providing the listing to telephone solicitors upon the telephone
solicitor's request. The fee established under this subsection may
not exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the office for the
costs of providing the listing to telephone solicitors.
(e) The office shall furnish the listing free of charge to an
organization whose purpose is to create a list of names of people
who do not want calls from telephone solicitors. The organization
may disseminate the listing to its members instead of a member
purchasing the listing from the office. However, the organization
must provide notice to the office of the name, address, and phone
number of the organization's members to whom the list is
disseminated.
(f) All fees imposed under this chapter must be deposited in the
utility consumer counselor solicitation fund established by section
9 of this chapter.
Sec. 9. (a) The utility consumer counselor solicitation fund is
established for the purpose of the administration of this chapter
and shall be used exclusively for this purpose.
(b) The fund shall be administered by the office.
(c) Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not
revert to the state general fund.
Sec. 10. (a) A telephone solicitor may not make or cause to be
made a telephone sales call to a:
(1) residential;
(2) mobile; or
(3) telephonic paging device;
telephone number, if that telephone number appears in the most
current quarterly listing published by the office.
(b) A telephone solicitor who makes a telephone sales call to a
residential, mobile, or telephonic paging device telephone number
shall disclose the:
(1) solicitor's true first and last name; and
(2) name of the business on whose behalf the telephone
solicitor is soliciting;
immediately upon making contact by telephone with the person
who is the subject of the telephone solicitation.
(c) This subsection does not apply to a person obtaining
consumer information for inclusion in directory assistance and
telephone directories sold by telephone companies and
organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3) or section 501(c)(6)
of the Internal Revenue Code. A telephone solicitor or person who
obtains consumer information that includes:
(1) residential;
(2) mobile; or
(3) telephonic paging device;
telephone numbers shall exclude the telephone numbers that
appear on the office's most current listing.
Sec. 11. The office shall investigate complaints received
concerning violations of this chapter.
and when so amended that said bill do pass.
Committee Vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0.
Mills
CR020901/DI 75 2000