| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to automated telephone answering systems; |
| 3 | creating s. 282.108, F.S.; providing definitions; |
| 4 | requiring state agencies and agents acting on behalf of a |
| 5 | state agency to provide during specified hours an option, |
| 6 | during the first minute of a call answered by an automated |
| 7 | telephone answering system, which permits callers to reach |
| 8 | an employee; requiring allocation of at least two phone |
| 9 | lines for certain responsibilities; requiring on-hold |
| 10 | times to be monitored; providing exceptions for |
| 11 | nonoperational hours; providing an exception for the "511" |
| 12 | traveler information system; prohibiting a state agency or |
| 13 | agent employee from using an automated telephone answering |
| 14 | system except under specified circumstances; requiring the |
| 15 | State Technology Office to adopt rules that require the |
| 16 | submission of annual reports; requiring the State |
| 17 | Technology Office to submit annual reports to the Governor |
| 18 | and the Legislature; providing that no cause of action |
| 19 | arises due to a failure to comply with the act; repealing |
| 20 | s. 110.1082, F.S., relating to telephone voice mail |
| 21 | systems and telephone menu options; providing an effective |
| 22 | date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | WHEREAS, state agencies are appropriately concerned about |
| 25 | making information accessible to the public and maintaining high |
| 26 | standards of customer service, and |
| 27 | WHEREAS, while many state agencies use automated telephone |
| 28 | answering systems to decrease costs and increase efficiency, |
| 29 | there are times when it is important that an employee rather |
| 30 | than an automated system answer the telephone, and |
| 31 | WHEREAS, the people of this state, including business |
| 32 | owners, visitors, and legislators, have expressed concern that |
| 33 | some state agencies improperly rely on voice mail and other |
| 34 | automated telephone answering systems to screen calls and direct |
| 35 | callers, and |
| 36 | WHEREAS, some telephone systems operated by state agencies |
| 37 | require callers to proceed through several menus in order to |
| 38 | finally reach an individual extension, which can be intimidating |
| 39 | to callers, and |
| 40 | WHEREAS, many telephone systems also make it difficult to |
| 41 | reach an attendant or operator at the state agency, and |
| 42 | WHEREAS, as a consequence, individuals who call a state |
| 43 | agency become frustrated in their attempts to obtain information |
| 44 | and are trapped in a voice-mail loop, and |
| 45 | WHEREAS, while automated telephone systems and voice mail |
| 46 | are intended to improve efficiency, the first duty of state |
| 47 | government is to serve the people, and efficiency should not |
| 48 | impede the average member of the public in attempting to contact |
| 49 | a state agency for service or information, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 50 |
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| 51 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 52 |
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| 53 | Section 1. Section 282.108, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 54 | to read: |
| 55 | 282.108 State agency automated telephone answering |
| 56 | systems.-- |
| 57 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 58 | (a) "Agent" means any person answering incoming telephone |
| 59 | calls from the public on behalf of a state agency pursuant to a |
| 60 | contract executed or renewed on or after January 1, 2008. |
| 61 | (b) "Automated telephone answering system" means a |
| 62 | software application that is used by a state agency or agent to |
| 63 | answer incoming telephone calls from the public; that accepts |
| 64 | voice telephone or touch-tone keypad input; and that provides |
| 65 | responses in the form of a voice, fax, callback, e-mail, or |
| 66 | other media response. |
| 67 | (c) "Menu" means the first time during a telephone call |
| 68 | answered by an automated telephone answering system when the |
| 69 | caller is asked to choose from two or more options, regardless |
| 70 | of whether those options are referred to as a menu, router, or |
| 71 | by any other term. |
| 72 | (d) "On-hold time" means the amount of time that a caller |
| 73 | is not speaking with an employee of a state agency or agent or |
| 74 | is not interacting with options provided by the automated |
| 75 | telephone answering system. |
| 76 | (e) "State agency" means any official, officer, |
| 77 | commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department |
| 78 | of the executive branch of state government. |
| 79 | (2)(a) On or before January 1, 2008, each state agency and |
| 80 | agent during regular hours of operation shall make available, |
| 81 | during the first minute of any telephone call answered by an |
| 82 | automated telephone answering system, a menu option that permits |
| 83 | callers to reach an employee of the state agency or an agent who |
| 84 | is trained to answer basic inquiries or to otherwise direct the |
| 85 | caller to someone appropriate to respond to the caller. Each |
| 86 | state agency and agent shall allocate a minimum of two telephone |
| 87 | lines to handle the responsibilities under this paragraph and |
| 88 | shall monitor on-hold times during regular hours of operation, |
| 89 | with the goal of an average on-hold time of 5 minutes or less |
| 90 | per telephone call. During nonoperational hours, the state |
| 91 | agency or agent may rely exclusively upon an automated telephone |
| 92 | answering system. |
| 93 | (b) This subsection does not apply to any "511" traveler |
| 94 | information system operated by the Department of Transportation. |
| 95 | (3) An employee of a state agency or an agent may not use |
| 96 | an automated telephone answering system when the employee is at |
| 97 | his or her regularly assigned work station if his or her |
| 98 | telephone is functional and available for use, unless the: |
| 99 | (a) Telephone is in use; or |
| 100 | (b) Automated telephone answering system transfers the |
| 101 | caller to, or provides the caller with an option of promptly |
| 102 | reaching an employee of a state agency or agent who can direct |
| 103 | the caller to, someone appropriate to respond to the caller. |
| 104 | (4) The State Technology Office shall: |
| 105 | (a) Adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 by |
| 106 | January 1, 2008, requiring each state agency on behalf of itself |
| 107 | and its agents to submit a written report to the office on July |
| 108 | 31, 2008, and annually thereafter, which relates to the previous |
| 109 | fiscal year and which describes actions taken to ensure |
| 110 | compliance with this section, documents average on-hold times, |
| 111 | and sets forth a plan for future action that will be taken to |
| 112 | reduce average on-hold times in the event this average exceeds 5 |
| 113 | minutes; and |
| 114 | (b) Provide a written report to the Governor, the |
| 115 | President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of |
| 116 | Representatives by September 30, 2008, and annually thereafter, |
| 117 | summarizing compliance by state agencies and agents with this |
| 118 | section and indicating the average on-hold time of each state |
| 119 | agency and agent during the previous fiscal year. |
| 120 | (5) No cause of action shall arise in favor of a person |
| 121 | due to the failure of a state agency or agent to comply with |
| 122 | this section. |
| 123 | Section 2. This act shall be implemented by state agencies |
| 124 | using existing personnel and within existing resources. |
| 125 | Section 3. Section 110.1082, Florida Statutes, is |
| 126 | repealed. |
| 127 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |