93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4143

 

Introduced 1/16/2004, by James D. Brosnahan

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
815 ILCS 505/2Z   from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z

    Creates the Wireless Telephone Users Consumer Protection Act. Requires wireless telephone service providers to provide the terms of a plan or contract for wireless telephone service and other specified information to consumers before any service is offered and to include the information in a publication and advertising. Provides requirements for extension, modification, or recission of wireless telephone service contracts. Provides for enforcement by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Allows the Attorney General and State's Attorneys to bring a civil action and obtain injunctive relief to enforce the provisions of the Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a violation of the Wireless Telephone Users Consumer Protection Act an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Act. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning wireless telephones.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Wireless Telephone Users Consumer Protection Act.
 
6     Section 5. Findings and purposes.
7     (a) The Illinois General Assembly makes the following
8 findings:
9         (1) Consumers rely increasingly on wireless telephone
10     service for personal, business, and emergency
11     communications. There are currently more than 137,000,000
12     wireless telephone users in the United States. This is more
13     than a 121% increase in the number of such users in the
14     past five years alone. In the future this number is
15     projected to grow as consumers switch from wireline to
16     wireless telephone service for their primary telephone
17     service.
18         (2) Consumers cannot easily compare offers for
19     wireless telephone service because information on terms,
20     pricing, and service plans for such service is not
21     presented in a uniform manner. Current wireless telephone
22     service contracts do not clearly display the information
23     consumers need to make an informed choice regarding a
24     wireless telephone service contract. Consumers may not be
25     aware of the deficiencies in wireless telephone service
26     quality until after they have signed a contract, and
27     exorbitant early termination penalties effectively lock
28     consumers into undesired, long-term contracts.
29     (b) The purposes of this Act are:
30         (1) to improve quality of wireless telephone service;
31         (2) to promote consumer choice in the wireless
32     telephone service market; and

 

 

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1         (3) to protect consumers rights.
 
2     Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
3     "Wireless telephone service" means any form of wireless
4 telephone service, including cellular telephone service,
5 broadband Personal Communication Service (PCS) telephone
6 service, Covered Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) service, and
7 any successor service to such service (including so-called next
8 generation or third generations service).
9     "Wireless telephone service provider" means a
10 telecommunications carrier that provides wireless telephone
11 service in the State of Illinois.
 
12     Section 15. Disclosure requirements.
13     (a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall require that
14 providers of wireless telephone service provide to consumers
15 before any service is offered and in any publication, including
16 publication on the Internet, of a wireless telephone service
17 provider the terms of a plan or contract for wireless telephone
18 service. The plan or contract shall set forth, in a plain and
19 conspicuous manner, all of the following information:
20         (1) Information on charges, including calling-from
21     area, monthly base charge, per-minute charges for minutes
22     not included in the plan, and the method of calculating
23     minutes charged.
24         (2) Information on minutes included in plan, including
25     weekday/daytime, nights/weekends, long-distance, roaming,
26     incoming, and directory assistance.
27         (3) Information on plan or contract terms, including
28     length of contract, early or other termination fees, trial
29     periods, and start-up fees.
30         (4) Information on taxes to be collected by the carrier
31     for, and paid to, a State, local, or other governmental
32     agency.
33         (5) Information on surcharges imposed by the carrier
34     for the costs of compliance with regulations or for other

 

 

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1     purposes.
2         (6) Any other information the Illinois Commerce
3     Commission considers appropriate to ensure that consumers
4     of wireless telephone service are fully informed of the
5     terms of the plan or contract.
6     (b) Wireless telephone service providers shall meet the
7     disclosure requirements in this Section in any advertising to
8     the extent the medium allows. Any advertising is also subject
9     to enforcement under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
10     Practices Act.
11     (c) Not later than 6 months after the effective date of
12     this Act, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt rules
13     requiring that the information required by subsection (a) be
14     published by wireless telephone service providers in a tabular
15     format, in a clear and uniform manner, and in at least 10-point
16     font.
 
17     Section 20. Contract extension, modification, or
18 recission.
19     (a) An extension of a contract for wireless telephone
20 service shall not be valid unless the contract is in writing or
21 confirmed in writing within 7 days.
22     (b) A material modification to the terms of a contract
23 shall be provided to the consumer in writing. The consumer
24 shall have 30 days to cancel the contract without any penalty
25 or other cost to the consumer, except the consumer shall be
26 responsible for the cost of the service used during the time
27 period the contract was in effect.
28     (c) A contract for wireless service may be canceled upon
29 the request of the consumer for any reason during the first 30
30 days. There shall be no penalty or other costs to the consumer
31 for any cancellation during these 30 days, except the consumer
32 shall be responsible for the cost of the service used during
33 the time period the contract was in effect.
 
34     Section 25. Provision of information on wireless telephone

 

 

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1 service coverage and quality to consumers.
2     (a) Each wireless telephone service provider shall make
3 available a map showing the wireless telephone service area of
4 such provider. The map shall contain the maximum practicable
5 level of granularity and shall be updated at least quarterly.
6     A map of the service area of a wireless telephone service
7 provider shall be provided to a consumer (i) upon the request
8 of the consumer and (ii) whenever a plan or contract for the
9 service is entered into.
10     The service area map shall be available on the Internet web
11 site of the provider concerned.
12     (b) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall monitor the
13     quality of wireless telephone service provided in the State of
14     Illinois by requiring semiannual service quality reports by
15     wireless telephone service providers on the following:
16         (A) Dropped calls.
17         (B) Blocked calls.
18         (C) Known coverage gaps (including average signal
19     strength) or dead zones.
20         (D) Predicted street level signal strength.
21         (E) Any other matters the Commission considers
22     appropriate.
23     The wireless service quality information shall be provided
24     in the format and reported by geographic area as required by
25     the Commission.
 
26     Section 30. Enforcement.
27     (a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall have the power
28 and authority to enforce the provisions of this Act as if these
29 provisions were provisions of the Public Utilities Act.
30     (b) The Attorney General and or the State's Attorney may
31 bring a civil action as well as obtain injunctive relief on
32 behalf of the residents of the State in the Circuit Court of
33 the county of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the
34 provisions of this Act.
35     (c) A person who violates any provision of this Act commits

 

 

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1 an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud
2 and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
3     (d) Any person that violates or fails to comply with any
4 provisions of this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of
5 no more than $50,000 or 0.00825% of the carrier's gross
6 intrastate annual wireless telecommunications revenue,
7 whichever is greater, for each offense.
8     (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
9 provisions of this Act are in addition to any other legal
10 remedies available, including those under the Public Utilities
11 Act.
 
12     Section 90. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
13 Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2Z as follows:
 
14     (815 ILCS 505/2Z)  (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z)
15     Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly
16 violates the Automotive Repair Act, the Home Repair and
17 Remodeling Act, the Dance Studio Act, the Physical Fitness
18 Services Act, the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act,
19 the Illinois Union Label Act, the Job Referral and Job Listing
20 Services Consumer Protection Act, the Travel Promotion
21 Consumer Protection Act, the Credit Services Organizations
22 Act, the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, the Pay-Per-Call
23 Services Consumer Protection Act, the Telephone Solicitations
24 Act, the Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act, the Cemetery
25 Care Act, the Safe and Hygienic Bed Act, the Pre-Need Cemetery
26 Sales Act, the High Risk Home Loan Act, the Wireless Telephone
27 Users Consumer Protection Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section
28 3-10 of the Cigarette Tax Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section
29 3-10 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Electronic Mail Act, or
30 paragraph (6) of subsection (k) of Section 6-305 of the
31 Illinois Vehicle Code commits an unlawful practice within the
32 meaning of this Act.
33 (Source: P.A. 92-426, eff. 1-1-02; 93-561, eff. 1-1-04.)
 

 

 

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1     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2 becoming law.