LC
14 8981-EC
Senate
Bill 46
By:
Senators Shafer of the 48th, Staton of the 18th, Cagle of the 49th, Heath of the
31st and Chance of the 16th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 46 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to telephone service in general, so as to provide
that suppliers of wireless telephone service providing directory information
shall not include wireless service dialing numbers without the express written
consent of a subscriber; to provide for terms and conditions; to provide
exceptions and authorize waivers; to provide for civil enforcement and immunity
from certain liability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
1 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to telephone service in general, is amended by adding at its
end a new Code Section 46-5-28 to read as follows:
"46-5-28.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Service supplier' means a person or entity who provides wireless service to a
telephone subscriber.
(2)
'Wireless service' means 'commercial mobile service' as defined under Section
332(D) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. Section 157, et
seq.), regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, and the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-66) and includes real-time, two-way
interconnected voice service which is provided over networks which utilize
intelligent switching capability and offer seamless handoff to customers. The
term does not include one-way signaling service, data transmission service,
nonlocal radio access line service, or a private telecommunications
service.
(b)
A service supplier of wireless service or any direct or indirect affiliate or
agent of a service supplier, providing the name and dialing number of a
subscriber for inclusion in any directory of any form, or selling the contents
of any directory data base, or any portion or segment thereof, shall not include
the dialing number of any wireless service subscriber without first obtaining
the express consent of that subscriber. The service supplier´s form for
obtaining the subscriber´s express consent shall meet all of the following
requirements:
(1)
It shall be a separate document that is not attached to any other
document;
(2)
It shall be signed and dated by the subscriber;
(3)
It shall be unambiguous and legible and conspicuously disclose that, by signing,
the subscriber is consenting to have the subscriber´s dialing number sold
or licensed as part of a list of subscribers and the subscriber´s dialing
number may be included in a publicly available directory; and
(4)
If under the subscriber´s calling plan the subscriber may be billed for
receiving unsolicited calls or text messaging from a telemarketer, the service
supplier´s form shall include a disclosure, which shall be unambiguous and
legible and conspicuously disclose that by consenting to have the
subscriber´s dialing number sold or licensed as part of a list of
subscribers or be included in a publicly available directory, the subscriber may
incur additional charges for receiving unsolicited calls or text messages.
(c)
A subscriber who provides express consent pursuant to subsection (b) of this
Code section may revoke that consent at any time. A service supplier shall
comply with the subscriber´s request to opt out within a reasonable period
of time, not to exceed 60 days.
(d)
A subscriber shall not be charged for making the choice to not be listed in a
directory. (e) This Code section does not apply to the provision of telephone
numbers to the following parties for the purposes indicated:
(1)
A collection agency exclusively for the collection of unpaid debts;
(2)
Any law enforcement agency, fire protection agency, public health agency, public
environmental health agency, city or county emergency services planning agency,
or private for-profit agency operating under contract with, and at the direction
of, one or more of these agencies, for the exclusive purpose of responding to a
911 call or communicating an imminent threat to life or property. Any
information or records provided pursuant to this paragraph shall be held in
confidence by that agency and by any individual employed by or associated with
that agency. This information or these records shall not be open to examination
for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of the services
specified in this paragraph;
(3)
A lawful process issued under state or federal law;
(4)
A service supplier providing service between service areas for the provision to
the subscriber of telephone service between service areas, or third parties for
the limited purpose of providing billing services;
(5)
A service supplier to effectuate a customer´s request to transfer the
customer´s assigned telephone number from the customer´s existing
service supplier to a new service supplier; or
(6)
The commission.
(f)
Every deliberate violation of this Code section is grounds for a civil suit by
the aggrieved subscriber against the service supplier responsible for the
violation.
(g)
No service supplier shall be subject to criminal or civil liability for the
release of customer information as authorized by this Code
section."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.