Senate Bill sb1408

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1408

    By the Committee on Commerce, Economic Opportunities, and
    Consumer Services




    310-1116-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to telephone solicitation;

  3         requiring the Department of Agriculture and

  4         Consumer Services to prepare a report and

  5         submit recommendations to the Governor and

  6         Legislature concerning the state's "no sales

  7         solicitation calls" listing; prescribing items

  8         to be included as part of the report; providing

  9         an effective date.

10  

11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

12  

13         Section 1.  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer

14  Services shall prepare a report that evaluates the operation

15  of the state's "no sales solicitation calls" listing,

16  established under section 501.059, Florida Statutes, during

17  the period from November 1, 2003, to November 1, 2004, and

18  assesses the continued viability of the state listing as it

19  has been affected by, among other factors, the federal

20  Do-Not-Call program established through rules of the Federal

21  Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission

22  published at 68 Federal Register 4580 and 68 Federal Register

23  44144. The department shall submit the report to the Governor,

24  the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of

25  Representatives by December 1, 2004.

26         (1)  The report must include, at a minimum, the

27  following information, with comparable data for the same

28  period during the prior year:

29         (a)  The number of initial consumer subscriptions and

30  renewal subscriptions to the state listing, and the associated

31  fees collected, per month, with an explanation of any factors

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1408
    310-1116-04




 1  that affected consumer subscriptions during the evaluation

 2  period.

 3         (b)  The number of purchases of the state listing by

 4  solicitors and the amount of fees generated from the

 5  purchases.

 6         (c)  The number of complaints received by the

 7  department related to the state listing per month.

 8         (d)  The number of enforcement actions taken by the

 9  department per month, the amount of fines imposed per month,

10  and a description of any settlements reached.

11         (2)  The report must also include:

12         (a)  The number of listings of Florida consumers

13  registered with the federal Do-Not-Call program which have

14  been downloaded by the department and subscribed to the state

15  listing, as well as the number of listings uploaded to the

16  federal program, and a description of any impediments the

17  department experienced in this process.

18         (b)  A description of any activities by the department

19  related to enforcement of the federal Do-Not-Call program.

20         (c)  If telephone numbers of Florida consumers

21  registered with the federal Do-Not-Call program have been

22  downloaded to the state listing, an evaluation of whether

23  those consumers have filed complaints with the department,

24  and, if so, the nature of those complaints and what action, if

25  any, was taken by the department to address those complaints.

26         (d)  The status of litigation involving the federal

27  program and an evaluation of the litigation's effect on the

28  department's management of the state listing.

29         (e)  A recommendation of whether it is feasible to

30  continue operation of the state listing based upon, among

31  other factors, the effects of the federal program; the

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1408
    310-1116-04




 1  associated litigation; and the amount of revenue collected

 2  from subscriptions, renewals, solicitor fees, and enforcement

 3  actions. If the report recommends the continued operation of

 4  the state listing, the report must also include a

 5  recommendation of, and rationale for, the resources necessary

 6  for the department to continue to manage the listing at its

 7  current level of consumer protection.

 8         (f)  A description of how the federal program's

 9  preemption of less restrictive state exemptions affects any

10  exemptions allowed under the state's "no sales solicitation

11  calls" listing and a recommendation of legislative action, if

12  any, which may be necessary to address this issue.

13         (g)  Any additional information that the department

14  believes will be useful to the Legislature in evaluating the

15  state listing and any potential changes to the state listing.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

17  

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19                          SENATE SUMMARY

20    Requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
      Services to evaluate the operation of the "no sales
21    solicitation calls" listing and report to the Governor,
      the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House
22    of Representatives by December 1, 2004. Requires that the
      department include in its report an evaluation of the
23    effect of the federal Do-Not-Call program.

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