00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 138(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to the inclusion of the charges of a vendor of goods or services on the 02 bills of certain telecommunications carriers; and adding an unlawful act to the Alaska 03 Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05  * Section 1. AS 42.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 8 to read: 06 Sec. 42.05.715. Telecommunications carrier bills; disclosures and  07 contested charges. (a) A telecommunications carrier shall clearly identify in separate 08 sections of a customer's bill 09 (1) charges by each person or billing agent that generates a charge on 10 the bill; and 11 (2) the information provided to the telecommunications carrier under 12 (b) of this section. 13 (b) A person or billing agent may not charge customers of a 14 telecommunications carrier on the carrier's bill for a product or service unless the 01 person or billing agent provides to the telecommunications carrier the following 02 information: 03 (1) the amount charged for each product or service, separately 04 identifying taxes or surcharges; 05 (2) a clear and concise description of the product or service that is the 06 basis of the charge; 07 (3) the name of the entity providing the product or service or otherwise 08 generating the charge; and 09 (4) a toll-free telephone number or other no-cost means of contacting 10 the entity generating the charge to resolve a dispute regarding the charge. 11 (c) A telecommunications carrier may not discontinue services to a customer 12 based on the customer's failure to pay a charge of another person or billing agent 13 appearing on the telecommunications carrier's bill, when the customer has contested 14 the charge using the contact information provided under (b) of this section. 15 (d) The commission may adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this 16 section. 17 (e) In this section, 18 (1) "billing agent" has the meaning given in AS 45.50.476; 19 (2) "telecommunications carrier" means a telecommunications utility 20 required to be certificated by or registered with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. 21  * Sec. 2. AS 45.50.471(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 22 (58) violating AS 45.50.476 (charges billed by telecommunications 23 carriers). 24  * Sec. 3. AS 45.50 is amended by adding a new section to read: 25 Sec. 45.50.476. Charges billed by telecommunications carriers. (a) Except 26 as provided in (c) of this section, a vendor of goods or services may not bill charges 27 for goods or services on a customer's telephone bill from a telecommunications 28 carrier.  29 (b) A person may not induce a telecommunications carrier, directly or through 30 an intermediary, to bill a customer for goods or services of a vendor unless the billing 31 is permitted under (c) of this section. In this subsection, "person" includes a person 01 who aggregates consumer billings or serves as a clearinghouse for aggregate billings. 02 (c) This section does not apply to an itemized billing in compliance with 03 AS 42.05.715 for 04 (1) the sale of goods or services governed by an effective tariff of 05 (A) a public utility operating under a certificate of public 06 convenience and necessity issued by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; or 07 (B) a carrier operating under a certificate, license, or 08 authorization issued by the Federal Communications Commission; 09 (2) direct-dial or dial-around services initiated from the customer's 10 telephone; 11 (3) operator-assisted telephone calls, collect calls, or telephone 12 services provided to facilitate communications to or from inmates in a correctional 13 center; or 14 (4) goods or services for which the vendor or billing agent has 15 provided the telecommunications carrier with 16 (A) the following: 17 (i) an electronic letter with the consumer's express 18 authorization of the charge; 19 (ii) proof that a written confirmation of the charge was 20 provided to the consumer; and 21 (iii) the consumer's birthdate or the last four digits of 22 the consumer's social security number; or 23 (B) independent third-party verification of the customer's 24 express authorization. 25 (d) In this section, 26 (1) "billing agent" means an entity that submits charges for goods or 27 services to the billing telecommunications carrier on behalf of itself or a vendor; 28 (2) "express authorization" means 29 (A) a customer agreement to be billed for the charges in a 30 signed, written document in paper, electronic, or digital form; or 31 (B) oral agreement to be billed for the charges after the 01 customer's identity has been verified by an independent third-party verification 02 company using unique identifying information; 03 (3) "telecommunications carrier" means a telecommunications utility 04 required to be certificated by or registered with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. 05  * Sec. 4. AS 45.50.481(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) Nothing in AS 45.50.471 - 45.50.561 applies to 07 (1) an act or transaction regulated under laws administered by the state, 08 by a regulatory board or commission except as provided by AS 45.50.471(b)(27), 09 [AND] (30), and (58), or officer acting under statutory authority of the state or of the 10 United States, unless the law regulating the act or transaction does not prohibit the 11 practices declared unlawful in AS 45.50.471; 12 (2) an act done by the publisher, owner, agent, or employee of a 13 newspaper, periodical, or radio or television station in the publication or dissemination 14 of an advertisement, when the owner, agent, or employee did not have knowledge of 15 the false, misleading, or deceptive character of the advertisement or did not have a 16 direct financial interest in the sale or distribution of the advertised product or service; 17 (3) an act or transaction regulated under AS 21.36 or AS 06.05 or a 18 regulation adopted under the authority of those chapters.