1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to telecommunications; enacting the Minnesota Wireless Telephone 
1.3 	Consumer Protection Act; changing certain existing requirements;amending 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 237.665; proposing coding for new law in 
1.5 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325F; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 
1.6 	325F.695.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 237.665, is amended to read:
1.9 	237.665 PROHIBITION AGAINST BILLING FOR UNAUTHORIZED 
1.10 	CHARGES.
1.11 	(a) A telephone company or telecommunications carrier providing local service shall 
1.12 	not include on a customer's bill a charge for goods or services on behalf of a third-party 
1.13 	service provider third party unless the third-party service provider third party has obtained 
1.14 	the customer's prior express authorization to include such charges on the customer's bill. If 
1.15 	a telephone company or telecommunications carrier providing local service includes a 
1.16 	charge for goods or services on behalf of a third party on a customer's bill, the telephone 
1.17 	company or telecommunications carrier must provide a contact number for the third party 
1.18 	and a brief description of each third-party good or service billed.
1.19 	(b) If a customer of a telephone company or telecommunications carrier notifies the 
1.20 	telephone company or telecommunications carrier that an unauthorized charge from a 
1.21 	third-party service provider third party has been included on the customer's bill, then the 
1.22 	telephone company or telecommunications carrier shall remove the unauthorized charge. 
1.23 	The telephone company or telecommunications carrier shall credit to the customer any 
1.24 	amounts paid for the unauthorized charges that were billed by the telephone company or 
1.25 	telecommunications carrier during the six months prior to the customer's complaint, unless 
2.1 	the third-party service provider third party can produce within 14 calendar days of the 
2.2 	complaint evidence to the customer and the telephone company or the telecommunications 
2.3 	carrier of prior express authorization by the customer.
2.4 	(c) A third-party service provider third party meets the prior express authorization 
2.5 	requirements of this section only if it obtains or receives a customer's written authorization 
2.6 	in the form of a letter of agency, a customer's oral authorization verified by an independent 
2.7 	third party, or a copy of an e-mail notice of verification as described in clause (3).
2.8 	(1) If the third-party service provider third party obtains the customer's written 
2.9 	authorization in the form of a letter of agency, it must be a separate or easily separable 
2.10 	document. The sole purpose of the letter of agency shall be to authorize a charge for goods 
2.11 	or services to appear on the customer's telephone bill. The letter of agency must be of 
2.12 	sufficient size to be clearly legible and must contain clear and unambiguous language that 
2.13 	contains separate statements for each good or service for which the customer is agreeing 
2.14 	to be billed. The letter of agency must be signed and dated by the customer.
2.15 	(2) If the customer's authorization is oral, the authorization must be verified by an 
2.16 	independent third-party verifier. The verification is valid only if:
2.17 	(i) the independent third party confirms the customer's identity with information 
2.18 	unique to the customer unless the customer refuses, then that fact must be noted; and
2.19 	(ii) the independent third party informs the customer that the customer is agreeing to 
2.20 	be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's telephone bill.
2.21 	(3) If a customer enters a contract via the Internet with a third-party service provider
2.22 	third party for goods or services which are charged to the bill issued by the customer's 
2.23 	telephone company or telecommunications carrier providing local service, the third-party 
2.24 	service provider third party must, within 48 hours of receiving the customer's authorization, 
2.25 	send the customer, via e-mail, a notice of verification confirming the authorization. The 
2.26 	third-party service provider third party shall maintain a copy of the notice of verification 
2.27 	for the duration of the contract as a record of the customer's express authorization to be 
2.28 	charged for the goods or services on the customer's telephone bill for local service.
2.29 	(d) For direct-dialed calls, where the call itself represents the service for which the 
2.30 	charge is placed on a customer's local telephone bill, such as "900 number" services and 
2.31 	"dial around" services, evidence that the call was placed from the number that is subject to 
2.32 	the telephone bill shall be considered sufficient evidence of authorization for that call for 
2.33 	billing authorization purposes established in this section. Nothing in this section shall be 
2.34 	construed to change a telephone company's or telecommunication carrier's obligations or 
2.35 	affect a telephone subscriber's rights under section 325F.692. 
2.36 	(e) This section does not apply to charges for collect calls.
3.1 	(f) Nothing in this section restricts the right of a telephone company or 
3.2 	telecommunications carrier to seek to recover from a third-party service provider third 
3.3 	party unauthorized charges credited to the customer by the telephone company or 
3.4 	telecommunications carrier.

3.5 	Sec. 2. [325F.696] MINNESOTA WIRELESS TELEPHONE CONSUMER 
3.6 	PROTECTION ACT.
3.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this 
3.8 	section.
3.9 	(b) "Wireless carrier" means a wireless telecommunications service.
3.10 	(c) "Wireless telecommunications service" means commercial mobile radio service 
3.11 	as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, part 20.
3.12 		Subd. 2.Required disclosures. (a) Wireless carriers providing wireless 
3.13 	telecommunications service pursuant to contract in the state must:
3.14 	(1) provide the customer, at the time of sale, with a coverage map that accurately 
3.15 	depicts the area where service is provided and that identifies areas where any roaming or 
3.16 	additional charges would apply to the customer's service;
3.17 	(2) make accurate coverage maps available to prospective and existing customers at 
3.18 	any location where the carrier's wireless telecommunications service is sold and make 
3.19 	those maps available electronically at the carrier's Web site if one is established;
3.20 	(3) clearly disclose at the time of sale the price for the service being purchased 
3.21 	by the customer, including any variable charges such as roaming charges or charges 
3.22 	for exceeding a specified number of minutes, and disclose a good faith estimate of all 
3.23 	applicable government-authorized or required taxes and fees;
3.24 	(4) clearly disclose to the customer at the time of sale, in bold face, capital letters 
3.25 	and at least 12-point font, that the price is not guaranteed to remain the same for the entire 
3.26 	term of the contract if the contract allows the wireless carrier to change the price of the 
3.27 	service during the contract term;
3.28 	(5) prior to the execution of a written contract for wireless telephone service, provide 
3.29 	the consumer the terms of the contract, in writing, and after execution of the contract, 
3.30 	provide the customer with a copy of the executed contract at the time of sale and thereafter 
3.31 	upon the customer's request; and 
3.32 	(6) clearly disclose any termination fee and change-in-term provisions in a wireless 
3.33 	service contract, and obtain specific, written acknowledgment from the customer that the 
3.34 	customer has read and understands those provisions in the contract.
4.1 	(b) Each executed contract must include a provision indicating that the customer 
4.2 	has received the information required by paragraph (a).
4.3 	(c) If a customer is purchasing service over the Internet or by telephone, the wireless 
4.4 	carrier may provide the disclosures and a copy of the contract and obtain customer 
4.5 	acknowledgments in electronic form or through the use of a third-party verification, if 
4.6 	the carrier sends the customer a paper copy of the required information, including the 
4.7 	contract, within seven days after the purchase of the wireless telecommunications service 
4.8 	unless the customer expressly opts not to receive the paper version.
4.9 		Subd. 3.Billing; listing of government taxes and fees. All bills for wireless 
4.10 	telecommunications services must list government-mandated charges in a section of 
4.11 	the bill separate from the section or sections listing the price and any other charges for 
4.12 	the wireless telecommunications service. The wireless carrier must include a brief, 
4.13 	easy-to-understand description of each charge included on the bill.
4.14 		Subd. 4.Billing for third-party goods and services. (a) A wireless carrier must 
4.15 	not include on a customer's bill a charge for goods or services on behalf of a third party 
4.16 	unless the third party has obtained the customer's prior express authorization to include 
4.17 	those charges on the customer's bill issued by the wireless carrier. If a wireless carrier 
4.18 	includes a charge for goods or services on behalf of a third party on a customer's bill, the 
4.19 	wireless carrier must provide a contact number for the third party and a brief description 
4.20 	of each third-party good or service billed.
4.21 	(b) If a customer of a wireless carrier notifies the wireless carrier that an unauthorized 
4.22 	charge from a third party has been included on the customer's bill, the wireless carrier 
4.23 	must remove the unauthorized charge. The wireless carrier must credit to the customer any 
4.24 	amounts paid for the unauthorized charges that were billed by the wireless carrier during 
4.25 	the six months prior to the customer's complaint, unless the third party can produce within 
4.26 	14 calendar days of the complaint evidence to the customer and the wireless carrier of 
4.27 	prior express authorization by the customer.
4.28 	(c) A third party meets the prior express authorization requirements of this 
4.29 	subdivision only if it obtains or receives a customer's written authorization in the form of a 
4.30 	letter of agency, a customer's oral authorization verified by an independent third party, or a 
4.31 	copy of an e-mail notice of verification as described in clause (3).
4.32 	(1) If the third party obtains the customer's written authorization in the form of a 
4.33 	letter of agency, it must be a separate or easily separable document. The sole purpose of 
4.34 	the letter of agency must be to authorize a charge for goods or services to appear on the 
4.35 	customer's wireless telephone bill. The letter of agency must be of sufficient size to be 
4.36 	clearly legible and must contain clear and unambiguous language that contains separate 
5.1 	statements for each good or service for which the customer is agreeing to be billed. The 
5.2 	letter of agency must be signed and dated by the customer.
5.3 	(2) If the customer's authorization is oral, the authorization must be verified by an 
5.4 	independent third-party verifier. The verification is valid only if:
5.5 	(i) the independent third party confirms the customer's identity with information 
5.6 	unique to the customer unless the customer refuses, which refusal must be noted; and 
5.7 	(ii) the independent third party informs the customer that the customer is agreeing 
5.8 	to be billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's wireless 
5.9 	telephone bill.
5.10 	(3) If a customer enters a contract via the Internet with a third party for goods or 
5.11 	services that are charged to the bill issued by the customer's wireless carrier, the third 
5.12 	party must, within 48 hours of receiving the customer's authorization, send the customer, 
5.13 	via e-mail, a notice of verification confirming the authorization. The third party must 
5.14 	maintain a copy of the notice of verification for the duration of the contract as a record 
5.15 	of the customer's express authorization to be charged for the goods or services on the 
5.16 	customer's wireless telephone bill.
5.17 	(d) For direct-dialed calls, where the call itself represents the service for which the 
5.18 	charge is placed on a customer's wireless telephone bill, such as "900 number" services 
5.19 	and "dial around" services, evidence that the call was placed from the number that is 
5.20 	subject to the wireless telephone bill is sufficient evidence of authorization for that call for 
5.21 	billing authorization purposes established in this subdivision. Nothing in this subdivision 
5.22 	may be construed to change obligations or affect rights under section 325F.692.
5.23 	(e) This subdivision does not apply to charges for collect calls.
5.24 	(f) Nothing in this subdivision restricts the right of a wireless carrier to seek to 
5.25 	recover from a third party unauthorized charges credited to the customer by the wireless 
5.26 	carrier.
5.27 		Subd. 5.FCC contact information. All bills for wireless service must notify the 
5.28 	customer that if the customer is unable to resolve a billing or service question with the 
5.29 	wireless carrier, the customer may contact the Federal Communications Commission 
5.30 	(FCC). The bill and contract must list the contact information for the FCC, including a 
5.31 	toll-free telephone number, mailing address, and Web site information.
5.32 		Subd. 6.Extensions in contract length. If a customer requests a new good or 
5.33 	service in connection with or a change in a term of an existing wireless service contract 
5.34 	and the new good, service, or change will result in the wireless carrier extending the 
5.35 	length of the wireless service contract, the wireless carrier must specifically disclose to the 
6.1 	customer that the requested change will result in an extension of the contract and disclose 
6.2 	the length of the extension and the new minimum contract period.
6.3 		Subd. 7.Remedies; penalties; enforcement. A violation of this section is a 
6.4 	violation of a law referred to in section 8.31, subdivision 1.
6.5 		Subd. 8.Severability. Each of the provisions of this section, and each application 
6.6 	of a provision to particular circumstances, is severable. If a provision or application is 
6.7 	found to be contrary to law and unenforceable, it is the intention of the legislature that the 
6.8 	remaining provisions and applications of this section remain valid and enforceable to the 
6.9 	full extent possible under section 645.20.

6.10 	Sec. 3.  REPEALER.
 6.11 	Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 325F.695, is repealed.