Session of 2000
         
HOUSE BILL No. 2784
         
By Committee on Governmental Organization and Elections
         
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10             AN  ACT amending the Kansas consumer protection act; prohibiting cer-
11             tain consumer telephone calls and providing remedies for violations;
12             amending K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670 and repealing the existing section.
13      
14       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
15             Section  1. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670 is hereby amended to read as
16       follows: 50-670. (a) As used in this section:
17             (1) "Consumer telephone call" means a call made by a telephone
18       solicitor to the residence of a consumer for the purpose of soliciting a
19       sale of any property or services to the person called, or for the purpose
20       of soliciting an extension of credit for property or services to the person
21       called, or for the purpose of obtaining information that will or may be
22       used for the direct solicitation of a sale of property or services to the
23       person called or an extension of credit for such purposes;.
24             (2) "Unsolicited consumer telephone call" means a consumer tele-
25       phone call other than a call made:
26             (A) In response to an express request of the person called; or
27             (B) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, payment
28       or performance of which has not been completed at the time of such call;.
29             (C) to any person with whom the telephone solicitor or the telephone
30       solicitor's predecessor in interest had an existing business relationship if
31       the solicitor is not an employee, a contract employee or an independent
32       contractor of a provider of telecommunications services; or
33             (D) by a newspaper publisher or such publisher's agent or employee
34       in connection with such publisher's business;
35             (3) "telephone solicitor" means any natural person, firm, organiza-
36       tion, partnership, association or corporation who makes or causes to be
37       made a consumer telephone call, including, but not limited to, calls made
38       by use of automatic dialing-announcing device;
39             (4) "automatic dialing-announcing device" means any user terminal
40       equipment which:
41             (A) When connected to a telephone line can dial, with or without
42       manual assistance, telephone numbers which have been stored or pro-
43       grammed in the device or are produced or selected by a random or se-


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  1       quential number generator; or
  2             (B) when connected to a telephone line can disseminate a recorded
  3       message to the telephone number called, either with or without manual
  4       assistance;
  5             (5) "negative response" means a statement from a consumer indicat-
  6       ing the consumer does not wish to listen to the sales presentation or
  7       participate in the solicitation presented in the consumer telephone call.
  8             (b) Any telephone solicitor who makes an unsolicited consumer tel-
  9       ephone call to a residential telephone number shall:
10             (1) Identify themselves;
11             (2) identify the business on whose behalf such person is soliciting;
12             (3) identify the purpose of the call immediately upon making contact
13       by telephone with the person who is the object of the telephone
14       solicitation;
15             (4)  promptly discontinue the solicitation if the person being solicited
16       gives a negative response at any time during the consumer telephone call;
17       and
18             (5) hang up the phone, or in the case of an automatic dialing-an-
19       nouncing device operator, disconnect the automatic dialing-announcing
20       device from the telephone line within 25 seconds of the termination of
21       the call by the person being called.
22             (c) A telephone solicitor shall not withhold the display of the tele-
23       phone solicitor's telephone number from a caller identification service
24       when that number is being used for telemarketing purposes and when
25       the telephone solicitor's service or equipment is capable of allowing the
26       display of such number.
27             (d) A telephone solicitor shall not transmit any written information
28       by facsimile machine or computer to a consumer after the consumer
29       requests orally or in writing that such transmissions cease.
30             (e) A telephone solicitor shall not obtain by use of any professional
31       delivery, courier or other pickup service receipt or possession of a con-
32       sumer's payment unless the goods are delivered with the opportunity to
33       inspect before any payment is collected.
34             (f) (b) No person shall make an unsolicited consumer telephone call
35       to a residential telephone number in this state.
36             (c) Local exchange carriers and telecommunications carriers shall not
37       be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this section.
38             (g) (d) Any violation of this section is an unconscionable act or prac-
39       tice under the Kansas consumer protection act.
40             (h) (e) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the Kansas
41       consumer protection act. 
42       Sec.  2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 50-670 is hereby repealed.
43        Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its


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  1       publication in the statute book.