HF 950

1st Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to consumer protection; regulating certain 
  1.3             telephone sales calls; providing remedies; proposing 
  1.4             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325G.
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [325G.53] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of sections 
  1.8   325G.54 to 325G.57, the terms defined in this section have the 
  1.9   meanings given them. 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [TELEPHONE SALES CALL.] "Telephone sales call" 
  1.11  means a call made by a telephone solicitor to a consumer, for 
  1.12  the purpose of soliciting a sale or rental of, or investment in, 
  1.13  any consumer goods or services, soliciting an extension of 
  1.14  credit for consumer goods or services, or obtaining information 
  1.15  that will or may be used for the direct solicitation of a sale 
  1.16  of consumer goods or services or an extension of credit for 
  1.17  those purposes. 
  1.18     Subd. 3.  [CONSUMER GOODS OR SERVICES.] "Consumer goods or 
  1.19  services" means real property or tangible or intangible personal 
  1.20  property that is normally used for personal, family, or 
  1.21  household purposes, including, without limitation, property 
  1.22  intended to be attached to or installed in real property without 
  1.23  regard to whether it is so attached or installed, as well as 
  1.24  cemetery lots and timeshare estates, and services related to 
  1.25  that property. 
  2.1      Subd. 4.  [UNSOLICITED TELEPHONIC SALES CALL.] "Unsolicited 
  2.2   telephonic sales call" means a telephonic sales call other than 
  2.3   a call made:  
  2.4      (1) in response to an express request of the person called; 
  2.5      (2) primarily in connection with an existing debt or a 
  2.6   contract, payment, or performance that has not been completed at 
  2.7   the time of the call; 
  2.8      (3) to a person with whom the telephone solicitor or an 
  2.9   affiliate of the telephone solicitor has an existing business 
  2.10  relationship; or 
  2.11     (4) in which the sale of goods or services is not 
  2.12  completed, and payment or authorization of payment is not 
  2.13  required, until after a face-to-face sales presentation is made 
  2.14  by the seller. 
  2.15     Subd. 5.  [TELEPHONE SOLICITOR.] "Telephone solicitor" 
  2.16  means a natural person, firm, organization, partnership, 
  2.17  association, or corporation, doing business in this state, who 
  2.18  makes or causes to be made a telephonic sales call, including, 
  2.19  but not limited to, calls made by use of automated dialing or 
  2.20  recorded message devices. 
  2.21     Subd. 6.  [CONSUMER.] "Consumer" means an actual or 
  2.22  prospective purchaser, lessee, or recipient of consumer goods or 
  2.23  services. 
  2.24     Sec. 2.  [325G.54] [NO CALLS LIST.] 
  2.25     Subdivision 1.  [PLACEMENT.] A residential, mobile, or 
  2.26  telephonic paging device telephone subscriber desiring to be 
  2.27  placed on a "no sales solicitation calls" listing indicating 
  2.28  that the subscriber does not wish to receive unsolicited 
  2.29  telephonic sales calls may notify the department of public 
  2.30  service or its agent and be placed on that listing upon receipt 
  2.31  by the department or its agent of an initial listing fee.  This 
  2.32  listing shall be renewed annually for each consumer upon receipt 
  2.33  of a renewal notice and a renewal fee.  The initial listing fee 
  2.34  and renewal fee shall be established according to section 
  2.35  16A.1285. 
  2.36     Subd. 2.  [UPDATING.] The department of public service 
  3.1   through a contracting agent, shall update its "no sales 
  3.2   solicitation calls" listing on at least a quarterly basis.  A 
  3.3   telephone solicitor, or an agent or trade association acting on 
  3.4   behalf of the telephone solicitor, shall obtain on at least a 
  3.5   quarterly basis from the department of public service through 
  3.6   its contracting agent the most recent "no sales solicitation 
  3.7   calls" listing.  The department may charge an annual fee to 
  3.8   provide the listing to telephone solicitors.  That fee shall be 
  3.9   established according to section 16A.1285.  The commissioner 
  3.10  shall fulfill the requirements of this section by contracting 
  3.11  with an agent for the establishment and maintenance of the list. 
  3.12     Subd. 3.  [SALES CALLS PROHIBITED.] No telephone solicitor 
  3.13  shall make or cause to be made an unsolicited telephonic sales 
  3.14  call to a residential, mobile, or telephonic paging device 
  3.15  telephone number if the number for that telephone appears in the 
  3.16  most recent listing obtained from the department or its agent.  
  3.17  A telephone solicitor or person who offers for sale any consumer 
  3.18  information that includes residential, mobile, or telephonic 
  3.19  paging device telephone numbers, except directory assistance and 
  3.20  telephone directories sold by telephone companies and 
  3.21  organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) of the 
  3.22  Internal Revenue Code, shall screen and exclude those numbers 
  3.23  that appear on the most recent "no sales solicitation calls" 
  3.24  list obtained from the department or its agent.  This section 
  3.25  does not apply to a person who calls an actual or prospective 
  3.26  seller or lessor of real property when the call is made in 
  3.27  response to a yard sign or other form of advertisement placed by 
  3.28  the seller or lessor. 
  3.29     Sec. 3.  [325G.55] [INTERFERENCE WITH CALLER 
  3.30  IDENTIFICATION.] 
  3.31     No telephone solicitor who makes a telephone sales call to 
  3.32  a consumer in this state shall knowingly use any method to block 
  3.33  or otherwise circumvent the consumer's use of a caller 
  3.34  identification service. 
  3.35     Sec. 4.  [325G.56] [NO CALL LIST.] 
  3.36     Subdivision 1.  [FEDERAL LIST.] If, pursuant to United 
  4.1   States Code, title 47, section 227(c)(3), the Federal 
  4.2   Communications Commission establishes a single national list of 
  4.3   telephone numbers of subscribers who object to receiving 
  4.4   telephone sales calls, the commissioner shall include 
  4.5   subscribers who live in Minnesota and are included in the 
  4.6   national list in the list established under this section. 
  4.7      Subd. 2.  [RELEASE OF INFORMATION.] Information contained 
  4.8   in the list established under this section shall be used only 
  4.9   for the purposes of compliance with this section or in a 
  4.10  proceeding or action under section 325G.57.  The information 
  4.11  contained in the list is private data on individuals or 
  4.12  nonpublic data as defined in section 13.02. 
  4.13     Subd. 3.  [NOTICE.] Telephone companies and 
  4.14  telecommunications carriers providing local service must inform 
  4.15  their customers of the right to place their name on the "no 
  4.16  sales solicitation calls" list.  The notification may be made: 
  4.17     (1) in conjunction with the notification requirements of 
  4.18  section 237.66, subdivision 1; or 
  4.19     (2) by conspicuous publication of the notice in the 
  4.20  consumer information pages of the local telephone directories. 
  4.21     Sec. 5.  [325G.57] [VIOLATIONS; PENALTIES.] 
  4.22     A person who is injured by a violation of section 325G.54 
  4.23  or 325G.55 may bring a civil action to enforce this section and 
  4.24  recover the greater of (1) $500 per violation; or (2) any actual 
  4.25  damages, costs, and disbursements, including reasonable 
  4.26  attorney's fees incurred in the civil action; provided, however, 
  4.27  that a person may bring a civil action against a telephone 
  4.28  solicitor based on a violation of section 325G.54 only if the 
  4.29  person provides evidence: 
  4.30     (1) that the person received more than one telephone call 
  4.31  in violation of section 325G.54 from that solicitor or from 
  4.32  persons acting on behalf of that solicitor; and 
  4.33     (2) that on at least one occasion prior to the violation 
  4.34  for which the action is brought, the person informed the 
  4.35  solicitor or a person acting on behalf of the solicitor that the 
  4.36  person did not wish to receive further calls from the solicitor. 
  5.1      In addition to the remedies provided in this section, the 
  5.2   attorney general may bring an action under section 8.31 against 
  5.3   a person for violation of sections 325G.53 to 325G.57. 
  5.4      Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.5      Sections 1; 2, subdivision 3; and 3 to 5 are effective 
  5.6   January 1, 2000.  Section 2, subdivisions 1 and 2, are effective 
  5.7   July 1, 1999.