Session of 2000
Effective: July 1, 2000

HOUSE BILL No. 2580
An Act concerning consumer protection; relating to unsolicited consumer telephone calls;
amending K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670 and repealing the existing section.


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

      New Section  1. No later than July 1, 2001, the state corporation com-
mission shall adopt rules and regulations that:

      (a) Require all local exchange carriers and telecommunications car-
riers to collectively develop a method or methods for annually notifying
residential subscribers of their rights and remedies available to them un-
der the Kansas consumer protection act, the telephone consumer pro-
tection act and the telemarketing and consumer fraud and abuse preven-
tion act and the availability of the direct marketing association's telephone
preference service.

      (b) Require the information provided to residential subscribers in
subsection (a) to specify, at a minimum, the following: The method of
registering with the telephone preference service at no cost to the sub-
scribers; the frequency with which the data base maintained by the tel-
ephone preference service is updated; the types of calls registered sub-
scribers should still expect to receive; the measures subscribers must take
to register if they move or receive a new telephone number; the duration
for registration and the procedures for registration renewals; and the rem-
edies available to registered subscribers if they receive unsolicited con-
sumer telephone calls pursuant to K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670, and amend-
ments thereto.

      (c) Establish guidelines for acceptable methods to inform all tele-
phone solicitors in Kansas of: The requirements for membership in the
direct marketing association; charges for members and nonmembers of
the direct marketing association to access the data base of the telephone
preference service; and options available to telephone solicitors for ac-
cessing Kansas-specific portions of the data base.

      Sec.  2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670 is hereby amended to read as fol-
lows: 50-670. (a) As used in this section:

      (1) "Consumer telephone call" means a call made by a telephone
solicitor to the residence of a consumer for the purpose of soliciting a
sale of any property or services to the person called, or for the purpose
of soliciting an extension of credit for property or services to the person
called, or for the purpose of obtaining information that will or may be
used for the direct solicitation of a sale of property or services to the
person called or an extension of credit for such purposes;

      (2) "unsolicited consumer telephone call" means a consumer tele-
phone call other than a call made:

      (A) In response to an express request of the person called;

      (B) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, payment
or performance of which has not been completed at the time of such call;
or

      (C) to any person with whom the telephone solicitor or the telephone
solicitor's predecessor in interest had an existing business relationship if
the solicitor is not an employee, a contract employee or an independent
contractor of a provider of telecommunications services; or

      (D) by a newspaper publisher or such publisher's agent or employee
in connection with such publisher's business;

      (3) "telephone solicitor" means any natural person, firm, organiza-
tion, partnership, association or corporation who makes or causes to be
made a consumer telephone call, including, but not limited to, calls made
by use of automatic dialing-announcing device;

      (4) "automatic dialing-announcing device" means any user terminal
equipment which:

      (A) When connected to a telephone line can dial, with or without
manual assistance, telephone numbers which have been stored or pro-
grammed in the device or are produced or selected by a random or se-
quential number generator; or

      (B) when connected to a telephone line can disseminate a recorded
message to the telephone number called, either with or without manual
assistance;

      (5) "negative response" means a statement from a consumer indicat-
ing the consumer does not wish to listen to the sales presentation or
participate in the solicitation presented in the consumer telephone call.

      (b) Any telephone solicitor who makes an unsolicited consumer tel-
ephone call to a residential telephone number shall:

      (1) Identify themselves;

      (2) identify the business on whose behalf such person is soliciting;

      (3) identify the purpose of the call immediately upon making contact
by telephone with the person who is the object of the telephone solici-
tation;

      (4)  promptly discontinue the solicitation if the person being solicited
gives a negative response at any time during the consumer telephone call;
and

      (5) hang up the phone, or in the case of an automatic dialing-an-
nouncing device operator, disconnect the automatic dialing-announcing
device from the telephone line within 25 seconds of the termination of
the call by the person being called.; and

      (6) a live operator or an automated dialing-announcing device shall
answer the line within five seconds of the beginning of the call. If answered
by automated dialing-announcing device, the message provided shall in-
clude only the information required in subsection (b)(1) and (2), but shall
not contain any unsolicited advertisement.

      (c) A telephone solicitor shall not withhold the display of the tele-
phone solicitor's telephone number from a caller identification service
when that number is being used for telemarketing purposes and when
the telephone solicitor's service or equipment is capable of allowing the
display of such number.

      (d) A telephone solicitor shall not transmit any written information
by facsimile machine or computer to a consumer after the consumer
requests orally or in writing that such transmissions cease.

      (e) A telephone solicitor shall not obtain by use of any professional
delivery, courier or other pickup service receipt or possession of a con-
sumer's payment unless the goods are delivered with the opportunity to
inspect before any payment is collected.

      (f) Local exchange carriers and telecommunications carriers shall not
be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this section.

      (g) Any violation of this section is an unconscionable act or practice
under the Kansas consumer protection act.

      (h) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the Kansas con-
sumer protection act.

      Sec.  3. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670 is hereby repealed.

      Sec.  4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.