Legislature(2003 - 2004)
03/02/2004 01:35 PM Senate L&C
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 324-FLORAL BUSINESS TELEPHONE LISTINGS
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SB 324 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS, sponsor, explained that SB 324 basically
requires disclosure in advertising for the out-of-state floral
industry. So, if a floral business in Seattle advertises its
services in Alaska, it can't use a local phone number nor
indicate it is a local provider. Nineteen other states have this
legislation. Although the floral business is a small industry,
this is an important issue for it. Unsuspecting people will call
a number thinking it's a local florist and will be transferred
to an out-of-state florist, who, in turn, will come back to the
local florist with the order and take a chunk of the charge with
them.
I am not trying to prohibit out-of-state florists from
advertising in Alaska, but I want to give Alaskans a
choice so that they know am I ordering flowers from a
local florist or am I ordering flowers from an outside
florist.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if the fact that flowers are such a perishable
product entered into the discussion.
SENATOR GUESS replied yes. The out-of-state florist is going to
have to buy the flowers from the local florist, anyway. So, the
customer will be charged even a little bit more for that
transaction.
CHAIR BUNDE said he thought that out-of-state florists would
also ask the local florist for a wholesale price.
SENATOR GUESS replied that is a good point. She reiterated that
she didn't want to prohibit out-of-state florists from
advertising in Alaska, but wanted their customers to have full
information.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS said his reading of the bill indicates
that a Fairbanks company could not use an Anchorage phone number
or a number from anywhere else in the state.
SENATOR GUESS replied he is correct and that the calling area
could be interpreted two ways - by area code and location.
MS. DOROTHY ZAPPA, Coordinator, Alaska State Florist
Association, began by relating her extensive resume' in the
floral area to the committee. She explained that the association
has 20,000 members internationally including retailers,
wholesalers and growers. She directed her comments toward the
need to have a deceptive trade practices act, an idea from
Charles F. Kremp, a florist in Philadelphia, who made a
statement before the Committee on Economic Matters in the
Maryland House of Representatives in 1997. He said:
This bill would make it an unfair trade practice to
knowingly misrepresent the geographic origin or
location of a business. It also requires that whenever
someone uses the name of a locality in its business
name, the actual address of the business must be
disclosed in any telephone directory or any telephone
directory assistance service.
She asserted that professional retail florists are being
bombarded by new competitive forces every day, like super
markets, chain stores and direct mail companies, featuring
flowers and plants to be ordered from a full color catalogue
within 24 hours.
The competitive challenges facing retail florists are
almost too numerous to mention. As difficult as this
competition is to deal with, I feel that the more
exposure to flowers to express our innermost feelings
for the public's awareness and availability is
ultimately very encouraging. It is welcomed by our
progressive, visionarially-thinking florists because
it does two things. First, it compels us to try harder
and there is nothing more fulfilling than figuring out
ways to convince people to buy flowers exponentially
from small traditional shops instead of from some
other sources. Second, all of these sales outlets
expose more people to growers more often. Therefore,
the pleasure of flowers in our everyday lives adds
extra beauty in our environment, plus it is known to
be horticulturally therapeutic in reducing stress
levels. The more that happens, the better chance all
of us in the industry have of increasing our sales,
improving profitability and making contributions to
our local community. What does irritate, not only Mr.
Kremp, but all our fellow florists and myself, is
competition that is based on deceiving the public....
MS. ZAPPA said the most irritating thing about deceptive trade
practice is the impact it has on the consumer. Companies that
run nationwide 800 numbers make it quite clear to the consumer
that they are national market makers. Once consumers know that,
they can decide for themselves about where they want to buy
their flowers. When consumers don't have a reasonable way to
differentiate between an existing local business and one that
claims to be local, that is unethical and deceptive.
MS. ZAPPA said she had sent Senator Guess copies of deceptive
advertisements that are in the GCI Anchorage Mat-Su Valley
telephone directory and Phone Directories Company, Inc. She
closed saying:
As you deliberate over this issue, I ask only that you
put yourselves in the shoes of the local retail
florist. The vitality of any community across the
country, whether it is a small town or large one,
depends on our viability and that of schools, houses
of worship, governing bodies and, of course, the
businesses that operate within those boundaries. Those
businesses provide goods and services to the public,
but they also offer employment opportunities, pay
taxes to support the local community and create a
spirit that helps hold communities together. That
spirit is being threatened by the deceptive trade
practices that a law would hopefully end.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if she intended to prevent competition from
outside the state.
MS. ZAPPA answered no, but she wants to eliminate unethical
practices.
SENATOR SEEKINS pointed out that SB 324 is not placed within the
deceptive trade practices title (AS 45.50.471.12), which reads:
...Using or employing deception, fraud, false
pretense, false promise, misrepresentation or
knowingly concealing, suppressing or omitting a
material fact with intent that others rely upon the
concealment suppression or omission in connection with
the sale or advertisement of goods or services whether
or not a person has, in fact, been misled, deceived or
damaged.
He asked if that is the issue she is talking about.
MS. ZAPPA replied yes.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked her if she felt this issue would apply to
any business, not just floral. She said yes and he asked if
anyone from her group had ever filed a consumer protection
complaint with the Department of Law.
MS. ZAPPA replied no. The Society of American Florists has moved
forward in the direction of SB 324.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he had dealt with yellow page sales people
and it seems that is where part of the blame for the deceptive
trade practices lies.
MS. ZAPPA agreed.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked Senator Guess why she didn't want to apply
this issue across the board instead of to just one small
industry.
SENATOR GUESS replied that is a good question, but it is mainly
because other industries didn't seem to have this problem.
Sometimes unintended consequences happen from applying a policy
broadly, but she would entertain his suggestions.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he felt that these situations were already
unlawful and it might be time for the Attorney General's Office
to intervene.
CHAIR BUNDE said SB 324 would be set aside for further work.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|