HB4143 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 15216 AMC 40812 b

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.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning wireless telephones.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Wireless Telephone Users Consumer Protection Act.

Section 5. Findings and purposes.

(a) The Illinois General Assembly makes the following findings:

(1) Consumers rely increasingly on wireless telephone service for personal, business, and emergency communications. There are currently more than 137,000,000 wireless telephone users in the United States. This is more than a 121% increase in the number of such users in the past five years alone. In the future this number is projected to grow as consumers switch from wireline to wireless telephone service for their primary telephone service.

(2) Consumers cannot easily compare offers for wireless telephone service because information on terms, pricing, and service plans for such service is not presented in a uniform manner. Current wireless telephone service contracts do not clearly display the information consumers need to make an informed choice regarding a wireless telephone service contract. Consumers may not be aware of the deficiencies in wireless telephone service quality until after they have signed a contract, and exorbitant early termination penalties effectively lock consumers into undesired, long-term contracts.

(b) The purposes of this Act are:

(1) to improve quality of wireless telephone service;

(2) to promote consumer choice in the wireless telephone service market; and

(3) to protect consumers rights.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Wireless telephone service" means any form of wireless telephone service, including cellular telephone service, broadband Personal Communication Service (PCS) telephone service, Covered Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) service, and any successor service to such service (including so-called next generation or third generations service).

"Wireless telephone service provider" means a telecommunications carrier that provides wireless telephone service in the State of Illinois.

Section 15. Disclosure requirements.

(a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall require that providers of wireless telephone service provide to consumers before any service is offered and in any publication, including publication on the Internet, of a wireless telephone service provider the terms of a plan or contract for wireless telephone service. The plan or contract shall set forth, in a plain and conspicuous manner, all of the following information:

(1) Information on charges, including calling-from area, monthly base charge, per-minute charges for minutes not included in the plan, and the method of calculating minutes charged.

(2) Information on minutes included in plan, including weekday/daytime, nights/weekends, long-distance, roaming, incoming, and directory assistance.

(3) Information on plan or contract terms, including length of contract, early or other termination fees, trial periods, and start-up fees.

(4) Information on taxes to be collected by the carrier for, and paid to, a State, local, or other governmental agency.

(5) Information on surcharges imposed by the carrier for the costs of compliance with regulations or for other purposes.

(6) Any other information the Illinois Commerce Commission considers appropriate to ensure that consumers of wireless telephone service are fully informed of the terms of the plan or contract.

(b) Wireless telephone service providers shall meet the disclosure requirements in this Section in any advertising to the extent the medium allows. Any advertising is also subject to enforcement under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(c) Not later than 6 months after the effective date of this Act, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt rules requiring that the information required by subsection (a) be published by wireless telephone service providers in a tabular format, in a clear and uniform manner, and in at least 10-point font.

Section 20. Contract extension, modification, or recission.

(a) An extension of a contract for wireless telephone service shall not be valid unless the contract is in writing or confirmed in writing within 7 days.

(b) A material modification to the terms of a contract shall be provided to the consumer in writing. The consumer shall have 30 days to cancel the contract without any penalty or other cost to the consumer, except the consumer shall be responsible for the cost of the service used during the time period the contract was in effect.

(c) A contract for wireless service may be canceled upon the request of the consumer for any reason during the first 30 days. There shall be no penalty or other costs to the consumer for any cancellation during these 30 days, except the consumer shall be responsible for the cost of the service used during the time period the contract was in effect.

Section 25. Provision of information on wireless telephone service coverage and quality to consumers.

(a) Each wireless telephone service provider shall make available a map showing the wireless telephone service area of such provider. The map shall contain the maximum practicable level of granularity and shall be updated at least quarterly.

A map of the service area of a wireless telephone service provider shall be provided to a consumer (i) upon the request of the consumer and (ii) whenever a plan or contract for the service is entered into.

The service area map shall be available on the Internet web site of the provider concerned.

(b) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall monitor the quality of wireless telephone service provided in the State of Illinois by requiring semiannual service quality reports by wireless telephone service providers on the following:

(A) Dropped calls.

(B) Blocked calls.

(C) Known coverage gaps (including average signal strength) or dead zones.

(D) Predicted street level signal strength.

(E) Any other matters the Commission considers appropriate.

The wireless service quality information shall be provided in the format and reported by geographic area as required by the Commission.

Section 30. Enforcement.

(a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall have the power and authority to enforce the provisions of this Act as if these provisions were provisions of the Public Utilities Act.

(b) The Attorney General and or the State's Attorney may bring a civil action as well as obtain injunctive relief on behalf of the residents of the State in the Circuit Court of the county of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this Act.

(c) A person who violates any provision of this Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(d) Any person that violates or fails to comply with any provisions of this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $50,000 or 0.00825% of the carrier's gross intrastate annual wireless telecommunications revenue, whichever is greater, for each offense.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions of this Act are in addition to any other legal remedies available, including those under the Public Utilities Act.

Section 90. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2Z as follows:

(815 ILCS 505/2Z) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z)

Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly violates the Automotive Repair Act, the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, the Dance Studio Act, the Physical Fitness Services Act, the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act, the Illinois Union Label Act, the Job Referral and Job Listing Services Consumer Protection Act, the Travel Promotion Consumer Protection Act, the Credit Services Organizations Act, the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer Protection Act, the Telephone Solicitations Act, the Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act, the Cemetery Care Act, the Safe and Hygienic Bed Act, the Pre-Need Cemetery Sales Act, the High Risk Home Loan Act, the Wireless Telephone Users Consumer Protection Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Tax Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Electronic Mail Act, or paragraph (6) of subsection (k) of Section 6-305 of the Illinois Vehicle Code commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 92-426, eff. 1-1-02; 93-561, eff. 1-1-04.)

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