73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 95
House Bill 2424
Sponsored by Representatives ROSENBAUM, GARRARD
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Expands state no call program and regulation of unlawful
telephone solicitations to include all telephone customers of
telecommunications companies.
Authorizes Attorney General to designate federal do not call
registry in lieu of contracting for administration of separate
state registry. Requires Attorney General, if requested, to
instruct party on how to register with federal agency that
maintains federal registry.
Declares emergency, effective on passage.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to telephone solicitations; creating new provisions;
amending ORS 646.561, 646.567, 646.569, 646.572 and 646.574;
and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 646.561 is amended to read:
646.561. As used in ORS 646.561 to 646.565, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) 'Charitable organization' means an organization organized
for charitable purposes as defined in ORS 128.801.
(2) 'Party' means a { - residential - } telephone customer
of a telecommunications company.
(3) 'Telephone solicitation' means the solicitation by
telephone by any person of a party { - at the residence of the
party - } for the purpose of encouraging the party to purchase
{ - property - } { + real estate + }, goods or services, or
make a donation. 'Telephone solicitation' does not include:
(a) Calls made by a charitable organization, a public agency or
volunteers on behalf of the organization or agency to members of
the organization or agency or to persons who have made a donation
or expressed an interest in making a donation;
(b) Calls limited to polling or soliciting the expression of
ideas, opinions or votes; or
(c) Business to business contacts.
SECTION 2. { + Section 3 of this 2005 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS 646.567 to 646.578. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) The Legislative Assembly finds that:
(a) Fraud committed by means of unwanted telephone solicitation
causes economic harm to Oregonians and constitutes an invasion of
privacy and a threat to the welfare of the people of this state.
(b) Unwanted telephone solicitations cause Oregonians harm
because:
(A) Telephone solicitations have become a primary tool for the
marketing of real estate, goods and services to parties.
Telephone solicitors have engaged in the practice of cold
calling, which is the initiation of calls to parties with whom
the telephone solicitors have no prior business relationship, to
market scams, fraudulent schemes and worthless goods and services
to unsuspecting parties who often lose thousands of dollars as a
result of the solicitations.
(B) Telephone solicitors often make calls based on lists
targeting the elderly or other vulnerable populations who are
unable to assess the risks associated with engaging in sales
transactions over the telephone.
(C) Technologies designed to assist parties in avoiding
unwanted telephone solicitations are not enforceable and place an
additional financial burden on parties, effectively shifting the
cost of unwanted telephone solicitations to parties. These
technologies include:
(i) Caller identification systems, for which parties bear the
cost of the caller identification service and hardware, and for
which technology exists that allows telephone solicitors to block
caller identification data;
(ii) Privacy manager services that, for a fee, intercept calls;
and
(iii) Unlisted telephone numbers, for which parties pay an
additional fee.
(D) Unwanted telephone solicitations tie up telephone lines and
prevent legitimate telephone calls from being received or placed
by parties. Predictive dialers utilized by telephone solicitors
that automatically dial parties' telephone numbers frequently
result in abandoned telephone solicitations and in silence when
the party answers the phone. These solicitations constitute an
intrusion on the property of parties and an invasion of privacy.
(E) The growing practice of preacquired account telephone
solicitations, in which a telephone solicitor acquires the
party's billing information prior to initiating a telephone
solicitation, has increasingly resulted in unauthorized charges
to parties' financial accounts.
(c) Existing state and federal laws are inadequate to prevent
the harm to the public welfare that results from telephone
solicitations.
(d) Allowing parties to choose not to receive unwanted
telephone solicitations by placing their telephone numbers on a '
do not call' list provides a means by which parties can protect
themselves from fraud related to telephone solicitation and from
the resulting economic harm and invasion of privacy.
(2) The purpose of ORS 646.567 to 646.578 is to prevent the
harmful effects set forth in subsection (1)(b) of this section
that result from telephone solicitations without inhibiting
legitimate telephone solicitations to parties who choose to
receive them. Prohibiting telephone solicitations under Oregon
law to those Oregonians whose telephone numbers appear on the
list described in ORS 646.574 enables Oregonians to choose
whether to receive telephone solicitations. + }
SECTION 4. ORS 646.567 is amended to read:
646.567. As used in ORS 646.567 to 646.578, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) 'Charitable organization' means an organization organized
for charitable purposes as defined in ORS 128.801.
(2) 'Information about a party' means information specific to a
party, including but not limited to the name and
{ - residence - } address of the party and the method by which
the party paid the fee required by ORS 646.574.
(3) 'Party' means a { - residential - } telephone customer
of a telecommunications company.
(4) 'Qualified trade association' means an organization with at
least the following characteristics:
(a) Written bylaws or governing documents including a code of
conduct for its members; and
(b) Criteria and procedures for expelling or suspending members
who violate the association's bylaws or governing documents.
(5) 'Telephone solicitation' means the solicitation by
telephone by any person of a party { - at the residence of the
party - } for the purpose of encouraging the party to purchase
{ - property - } { + real estate + }, goods or services, or
make a donation. 'Telephone solicitation' does not include:
(a) Calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the
called party;
(b) Calls made by a charitable organization, a public agency or
volunteers on behalf of the organization or agency to members of
the organization or agency or to persons who have donated or
expressed an interest in donating { + real estate, + } goods
{ - , - } { + or + } services { - or real estate - } ;
(c) Calls limited to polling or soliciting the expression of
ideas, opinions or votes; or
(d) Business to business contacts.
SECTION 5. ORS 646.569 is amended to read:
646.569. (1) A person may not engage in the telephone
solicitation of a party at a telephone number included on the
then current list { + :
(a) + } Published by the administrator of the telephone
solicitation program established under ORS 646.572 and
646.574 { + ; or
(b) Maintained by the federal agency designated under ORS
646.572 + }.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) 'Predecessor of a business enterprise' means a financial
institution as defined in 15 U.S.C. 6827 that has:
(A) Merged with or been acquired by the business enterprise for
which the person is calling; or
(B) Sold or assigned an account of a party who has previously
purchased from the business enterprise, to the business
enterprise for which the person is calling.
(b) 'Telephone solicitation' does not include a person
soliciting business from prospective purchasers who have
previously purchased from:
(A) The person making the solicitation;
(B) The business enterprise for which the person is calling; or
(C) A predecessor of the business enterprise for which the
person is calling.
SECTION 6. ORS 646.572 is amended to read:
646.572. { + (1) + } The Attorney General shall { + either:
(a) + } Advertise for bids and enter into a contract with a
person to act as the administrator of the telephone solicitation
program described in ORS 646.574 { - . - } { + ; or
(b) Designate a federal 'do not call' registry, including but
not limited to the registry maintained by the Federal Trade
Commission under 16 C.F.R. 310.
(2) + } The { + Attorney General may include in a + } contract
{ - may include - } { + with the administrator + } any
provision that the Attorney General determines is in the public
interest.
{ + (3) If a party requests, the Attorney General shall
instruct the party on how to register the party's telephone
number on the federal 'do not call' registry. + }
SECTION 7. ORS 646.574 is amended to read:
646.574. { + If the Attorney General enters into a contract
pursuant to ORS 646.572 (1)(a): + }
(1) The administrator referred to in ORS 646.572 shall create,
maintain and distribute a database containing a list of telephone
numbers of parties who do not wish to receive any telephone
solicitation at the listed numbers. Beginning on the date
specified in the contract between the administrator and the
Attorney General and at least once each quarter thereafter, the
administrator shall update the list by:
(a) Adding the numbers of parties who have filed notice and
paid the fee as required in this section; and
(b) Removing the numbers of those parties who have requested
that their numbers be removed or whose listing has expired
without renewal.
(2) A party may file notice together with a fee of $10 per
listed number, or such lesser amount as may be specified in the
contract, with the administrator indicating the party's desire to
place telephone numbers on the list described in subsection (1)
of this section. The notice shall be filed in the form and manner
specified in the contract between the administrator and the
Attorney General. The notice is effective for one year from the
date the party files the notice. The party may renew the notice
for additional periods of one year by filing an additional notice
and paying an additional fee by the anniversary of the original
filing date of the notice.
(3) Information about a party is confidential. The Attorney
General may not disclose information about a party.
(4) The administrator { - shall - } { + may + } not furnish
the list or disclose any information about a party to any person,
except as follows:
(a) Upon request of a person engaging or intending to engage in
telephone solicitations and after payment of the fees in the
amounts specified in the contract between the administrator and
the Attorney General, the administrator shall furnish to the
person:
(A) The most recent copy of the list described in subsection
(1) of this section.
(B) The names of the parties whose telephone numbers are on the
list.
(b) Upon request of a qualified trade association and after
payment of the fees in the amounts specified in the contract
between the administrator and the Attorney General, the
administrator shall furnish to the qualified trade association:
(A) The most recent copy of the list described in subsection
(1) of this section.
(B) The names of the parties whose telephone numbers are on the
list.
(c) A qualified trade association that receives a list or the
names of the parties whose telephone numbers are on the list
under this subsection may make the list or the names available to
its members on any terms the association and its members may
impose.
(d) Upon request of the Attorney General for the purpose of
enforcing ORS 646.569, the administrator shall furnish the
Attorney General with all requested information about a party or
any person who the Attorney General believes has engaged in a
solicitation prohibited by ORS 646.569. The administrator
{ - shall - } { + may + } not charge any fee for furnishing the
information to the Attorney General.
(e) Upon request of any party who has filed a notice and paid
the fee as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the
administrator shall furnish the party with all requested
information about the party or any person who the party believes
has engaged in a solicitation prohibited by ORS 646.569. The
administrator { - shall - } { + may + } not charge any fee
for furnishing the information to the party.
(f) The administrator shall comply with any lawful subpoena or
court order directing disclosure of the list and of any other
information.
(g) The administrator shall provide all information that may be
requested by any successor administrator who may be selected by
the Attorney General. The administrator { - shall - }
{ + may + } not charge
{ - any - } { + a + } fee for furnishing the information to
the successor administrator.
(5) The administrator shall promptly forward any complaints
concerning alleged violations of ORS 646.569 to the Attorney
General.
(6) Fees paid to the administrator under this section shall be
considered income to the administrator in the manner specified in
the contract between the administrator and the Attorney General.
(7) When furnishing the list or names under subsection (4) of
this section, the administrator shall make the information
available in printed and electronic form.
SECTION 8. { + The amendments to ORS 646.561, 646.567 and
646.569 by sections 1, 4 and 5 of this 2005 Act apply to
telephone solicitations made on or after the effective date of
this 2005 Act. + }
SECTION 9. { + This 2005 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2005 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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