CSHB 15(STA): "An Act relating to establishing the Alaska No-Call List, a data base of residential telephone customers who do not wish to receive telephonic solicitations; requiring telephonic sellers and paid solicitors to purchase the data base; requiring telephonic sellers to identify themselves; requiring telephonic solicitors who are otherwise exempt from registration as telephonic solicitors to file with the Department of Law and pay the data base access fee; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 15(STA) 01 "An Act relating to establishing the Alaska No-Call List, a data base of residential 02 telephone customers who do not wish to receive telephonic solicitations; requiring 03 telephonic sellers and paid solicitors to purchase the data base; requiring telephonic 04 sellers to identify themselves; requiring telephonic solicitors who are otherwise exempt 05 from registration as telephonic solicitors to file with the Department of Law and pay the 06 data base access fee; and providing for an effective date." 07 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 * Section 1. AS 45.50.475(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) A person is in violation of AS 45.50.471(b)(41) if the person 10 (1) engages in the telephonic [TELEPHONE] solicitation of a 11 residential telephone customer of a telecommunications company and the customer is 12 identified in the Alaska No-Call List, a data base established under (b) of this 13 section [TELEPHONE DIRECTORY AS NOT WISHING TO RECEIVE
01 TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS]; or 02 (2) originates a telephone call using an automated or recorded message 03 as a telephonic advertisement or solicitation. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 45.50.475(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 05 (b) The attorney general shall contract with a designated agent to create and 06 maintain an Internet web site and the data base containing the Alaska No-Call List. 07 The Alaska No-Call List is established as a data base for use when verifying that 08 residential subscribers in the state have given notice of objection to receiving 09 telephonic solicitations. The Alaska No-Call List shall be easily accessible by persons 10 or entities desiring to make telephonic solicitations and by state and local law 11 enforcement agencies. The following apply to the Alaska No-Call List: 12 (1) the attorney general shall, by regulation, establish guidelines for the 13 designated agent for the development and maintenance of the Alaska No-Call List so 14 that 15 (A) there is an annual data base access fee for persons or 16 entities that wish to make telephonic solicitations or otherwise access the data 17 base of telephone numbers and zip codes contained in the Alaska No-Call List 18 data base; money collected under this section by the designated agent must 19 cover the costs of creating, maintaining, and updating the website and data 20 base, maintaining the online complaint system, and reimbursement to the 21 attorney general for relevant expenditures; the attorney general may adjust the 22 annual data base access fee by regulation to fully cover the costs of creating 23 and maintaining the Alaska No-Call List; the designated agent shall provide 24 means for online registration and credit card payment of fees; when initially 25 registering and paying the data base access fee for the Alaska No-Call List, 26 each person or entity shall provide information required by the attorney 27 general, including a current business name, business address, electronic mail 28 address, if available, and telephone number, and this information shall be 29 revised when changes to it occur; 30 (B) a residential subscriber may give notice to the designated 31 agent of the person's objection to receiving telephonic solicitations, or may
01 revoke notice, by 02 (i) entering the area code, telephone number, and zip 03 code of the subscriber directly into the data base by way of the 04 designated state Internet web site; or 05 (ii) using a touch-tone telephone to enter the area code, 06 telephone number, and zip code of the subscriber by way of a 07 designated statewide, toll-free telephone number maintained by the 08 designated agent as part of the Alaska No-Call List program; 09 (C) the date of every notice received under (B) of this 10 paragraph is recorded and included as part of the information in the Alaska No- 11 Call List; 12 (D) the designated agent shall 13 (i) subject to supervision by the attorney general, revise 14 information about the Alaska No-Call List program on the designated 15 state Internet web site; and 16 (ii) drop from the program each residential subscriber 17 who fails to reregister annually; 18 (E) the designated agent or a person or entity collecting 19 information to be transmitted to the designated agent may not use or distribute 20 subscriber information contained in the Alaska No-Call List except as 21 expressly authorized under this subsection; 22 (F) the methods by which additions, deletions, changes, and 23 modifications are made to the Alaska No-Call List data base are available to 24 persons or entities on request; the methods must include provisions to remove 25 a telephone number that has been disconnected or reassigned from the Alaska 26 No-Call List on at least an annual basis; 27 (G) the designated agent shall maintain an automated, online 28 complaint system for residential subscribers to report suspected violations 29 using the designated state Internet web site; the automated, online complaint 30 system must be able to electronically collect, sort, and report suspected 31 violations to the appropriate state enforcement agency for enforcement
01 purposes; 02 (H) the Alaska No-Call List is available online 03 (i) at the Alaska No-Call List web site to a person or 04 entity desiring to make telephonic solicitations if the person or entity 05 paid the access fee under (A) of this paragraph; the list shall be 06 available in a text or other compatible format, at the discretion of the 07 attorney general, but shall allow telephonic solicitors to select and sort 08 by specific zip codes and telephone area codes; 09 (ii) for the sole purpose of compliance with this section; 10 (I) other matters relating to the data base as the attorney general 11 considers necessary or desirable are covered by regulation; 12 (2) if the appropriate federal agency establishes a single national data 13 base of telephone numbers of residential subscribers who object to receiving 14 telephonic solicitations, the designated agent shall, at no additional charge to 15 telephonic solicitors, include that portion of a single national data base that relates to 16 this state in the Alaska No-Call List established under this subsection and shall 17 provide the Alaska list to the federal agency; 18 (3) the state is not liable to a person for gathering, managing, or using 19 information in the Alaska No-Call List data base under this subsection or for enforcing 20 the provisions of this section; 21 (4) the designated agent is not liable to any person other than the state 22 for performing the designated agent's duties under this subsection unless, and only to 23 the extent that, the designated agent commits a willful and wanton act or omission; 24 (5) the designated agent shall revise the data base on a periodic basis 25 with information provided by residential subscribers and local exchange providers; 26 (6) a person may not place or remove the telephone number of another 27 person on the Alaska No-Call List without the authorization of the person to whom the 28 number is assigned; 29 (7) the attorney general shall submit a report to the standing Finance 30 Committees of the Alaska Legislature not later than January 31 each year; the report 31 must include
01 (A) an account of fee revenue received under this section in the 02 previous 12 months; 03 (B) expenditures for administration of the Alaska No-Call List 04 program for the previous 12 months; 05 (C) projections of fee revenue for the next 12 months; and 06 (D) projections of expenditures for administration of the 07 program for the next 12 months, including the expenditures of the designated 08 agent and expenditures of the attorney general. 09 * Sec. 3. AS 45.50.475(d) is amended to read: 10 (d) A person who employs individuals to engage in telephonic 11 [TELEPHONE] solicitations is not liable for the violation of this section 12 [AS 45.50.475] if an employee solicits a residential telephone customer who is 13 identified in the data base [TELEPHONE DIRECTORY] as not wishing to receive 14 telephonic [TELEPHONE] solicitations if the person established that 15 (1) the person has adopted and implemented written procedures to 16 comply with (a) of this section including corrective actions where appropriate; 17 (2) the person has trained its personnel in the procedures established 18 under (1) of this subsection; 19 (3) the call that violated this section [AS 45.50.475] was made 20 contrary to the procedures and policies established by the person; and 21 (4) all calls made on behalf of the person who employs individuals to 22 engage in telephonic solicitations that result in violations of this section occur not 23 more than twice in a 30-day period [AS 45.50.475 ARE INFREQUENT]. 24 * Sec. 4. AS 45.50.475(e) is amended to read: 25 (e) An individual who solicits a residential telephone customer who is 26 identified in the data base [TELEPHONE DIRECTORY] as not wishing to receive 27 telephonic [TELEPHONE] solicitations is not liable for the violation of this section 28 [AS 45.50.475] if the individual establishes that the individual did not intend to make 29 a call in violation of this section [AS 45.50.475] and did not recklessly disregard 30 information or policies and procedures that would have avoided the improper call. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 45.50.475(g)(3) is amended to read:
01 (3) "telephonic [TELEPHONE] solicitation" 02 (A) means a voice or telefacsimile communication over a 03 [THE SOLICITATION BY A PERSON BY] telephone line [OF A 04 CUSTOMER AT THE RESIDENCE OF THE CUSTOMER] for the purpose 05 of encouraging the [CUSTOMER TO] purchase, lease, or rental of or 06 investment in property, goods, or services, or the making of [MAKE] a 07 donation; 08 (B) does not include 09 (i) calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the 10 called customer or communication made during a call made by the 11 customer; 12 (ii) [CALLS MADE BY A CHARITABLE 13 ORGANIZATION, A PUBLIC AGENCY, OR VOLUNTEERS ON 14 BEHALF OF THE CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION OR PUBLIC 15 AGENCY TO MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION OR AGENCY 16 OR TO PERSONS WHO, WITHIN THE LAST 24 MONTHS, HAVE 17 MADE A DONATION TO THE ORGANIZATION OR AGENCY OR 18 EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN MAKING A DONATION; 19 (iii)] calls limited to soliciting the expression of ideas, 20 opinions, or votes; 21 (iii) [(iv)] business-to-business calls; or 22 (iv) [(v)] a person soliciting business from prospective 23 purchasers who have, within the last 18 [24] months, purchased from 24 the person making the solicitation or from the business enterprise for 25 which the person is calling but only if the person or business enterprise 26 has not received a written request from the prospective purchaser 27 asking that telephonic [TELEPHONE] solicitations cease; the person 28 or business enterprise is presumed to have received a written request no 29 later than 10 days after the prospective purchaser mailed it, properly 30 addressed and with the appropriate postage. 31 * Sec. 6. AS 45.50.475 is amended by adding new subsections to read:
01 (h) A person required to register under AS 45.63.010 or AS 45.68.010(b), or a 02 person who is exempt from registration under AS 45.63.080, shall purchase access to 03 the appropriate data base from the designated agent with which the attorney general 04 has entered into a contract if the person intends to make a telephonic solicitation. 05 (i) Notwithstanding (h) of this section, each of the following is not required to 06 purchase access to the Alaska No-Call List and is not subject to this section: 07 (1) a person required to register under AS 45.68.010(a); 08 (2) a person who is exempt from registering under AS 45.68.120; and 09 (3) a paid solicitor under AS 45.68.010(b) who does not solicit by 10 telephonic means. 11 (j) A person registered under AS 45.68.010(b) or a volunteer for the charitable 12 organization is not considered to be engaging in telephonic solicitation under this 13 section for calls made on behalf of a charitable organization to persons who, within the 14 last 18 months, have made a donation to the organization or expressed an interest in 15 making a donation. 16 * Sec. 7. AS 45.63.010(b) is amended to read: 17 (b) To register under (a) of this section, a person shall file with the department 18 (1) a notice of intent to engage in a solicitation campaign; a separate 19 notice of intent shall be filed for each solicitation campaign; 20 (2) an irrevocable consent appointing the department the person's agent 21 for the receipt of service of process in a court action or other proceeding against the 22 person, or the successor in interest of the person, for a violation of this chapter; [AND] 23 (3) an acknowledgment from the designated agent that the person 24 has paid the data base access fee under AS 45.50.475(b)(1)(A); and 25 (4) a signed statement that the person has read and will comply with 26 this chapter and the regulations adopted under this chapter. 27 * Sec. 8. AS 45.63.010(c) is amended to read: 28 (c) Registration under (b) of this section is not complete until the telephonic 29 seller receives an acknowledgment [ACKNOWLEDGEMENT] from the department 30 that the seller has complied with (b) of this section and the telephonic seller has the 31 data base of telephone numbers of residential customers who do not wish to
01 receive telephonic solicitations. 02 * Sec. 9. AS 45.63 is amended by adding a new section to read: 03 Sec. 45.63.045. Required representations; prohibitions. (a) A telephonic 04 seller shall 05 (1) promptly and in a clear and conspicuous manner, disclose the 06 registered seller's name and telephone number, whom the registered seller represents, 07 and that the call is a sales call; and 08 (2) provide the information under (1) of this subsection at any time 09 during the conversation after it is provided under (1) of this subsection if requested by 10 a person at the number called. 11 (b) A telephonic solicitor may not cause a telephone to ring repeatedly or 12 continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass a person at the telephone 13 number called or engage a person in a telephone conversation repeatedly. 14 * Sec. 10. AS 45.68.010(c) is amended to read: 15 (c) To register under this section, a charitable organization or paid solicitor 16 shall file with the department 17 (1) a registration statement on a form provided and established by the 18 department by regulation; and 19 (2) in the case of a paid solicitor, 20 (A) a bond in the amount and under the conditions established 21 by the department by regulation; and 22 (B) an acknowledgment from the designated agent that the 23 paid solicitor has paid the data base access fee under 24 AS 45.50.475(b)(1)(A) if the paid solicitor intends to engage in telephonic 25 solicitations. 26 * Sec. 11. AS 45.68.010(d) is amended to read: 27 (d) Registration under this section expires on September 1 of each year. To 28 renew a registration, a charitable organization or paid solicitor shall file with the 29 department a registration renewal statement established by the department by 30 regulation and, in the case of a paid solicitor, evidence that a bond that satisfies (c)(2) 31 of this section will be in effect for the renewal period and, if required under (c)(2) of
01 this section, acknowledgment from the designated agent that the paid solicitor 02 has paid the data base access fee under AS 45.50.475(b)(1)(A) for the renewal 03 period. 04 * Sec. 12. AS 45.50.475(c) is repealed. 05 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 DATA BASE SETUP. (a) Not later than January 1, 2004, the attorney general shall 08 contract with a designated agent to maintain the Internet web site and data base containing the 09 Alaska No-Call List. If only one entity bids on the contract, the attorney general may, at the 10 attorney general's discretion, award the contract. If no responsive and responsible bids are 11 received by January 1, 2004, the attorney general may advertise again for bids. The contract 12 must begin not later than July 1, 2004. 13 (b) Not later than six months after the beginning of the contract, the designated agent, 14 using the designated state Internet web site, shall develop and maintain the Alaska No-Call 15 List data base with information provided by residential subscribers. 16 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 17 read: 18 TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS: REGULATIONS. Notwithstanding sec. 15 of this 19 Act, the attorney general may proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement this Act. 20 The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the 21 effective date of secs. 1 - 12 of this Act. 22 * Sec. 15. Sections 1 - 12 of this Act take effect July 1, 2004. 23 * Sec. 16. Sections 13 and 14 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).