CHAPTER 82 HOUSE BILL No. 2197 An  Act relating to consumer protection; concerning negative option invitation or announcement; amending K.S.A. 50-617 and repealing the existing section. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

      Section  1. K.S.A. 50-617 is hereby amended to read as follows: 50-
617. (a) Whenever any supplier shall, in any manner, or by any means,
deliver goods property or services not actually affirmatively ordered or
requested by the recipient, the receipt of any such unordered goods prop-
erty or services shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to
the recipient who may use or dispose of the same in any manner the
recipient sees fit without any obligation on the recipient's part to the
sender supplier. Property or services are considered to be unordered un-
less the recipient specifically requested, in an affirmative manner, the
receipt of the property or services according to the terms under which
they are being offered. Property or services are not considered to have
been affirmatively ordered or requested if a person fails to respond to a
negative option invitation or announcement to purchase the property or
services, and the property or services are provided notwithstanding. In
any action for the return of such goods property or for payment of the
purchase price of such goods property or services or any other consid-
eration, it shall be a complete defense that the goods property or services
were delivered to the recipient unordered voluntarily and that the recip-
ient did not actually affirmatively order or request the same.

      (b) As used in this section, ``negative option invitation or announce-
ment'' means any material sent by a supplier which identifies property or
services which such supplier proposes to send or sends to recipients, and
the recipients are thereafter billed for the property or services identified
in the material, unless by a date or within a time specified by the supplier,
the recipients, in conformity with the supplier's terms set forth in the
material, instruct the supplier not to send the identified property or serv-
ices.

      (b) (c) Any attempt to collect on billing for goods or bill for unordered
property or services received as an unconditional gift under this section
is a deceptive act or practice under the Kansas consumer protection act.

      (d) The provisions of this act do not apply to plans and arrangements
regulated by and in compliance with 16 C.F.R. 425 or to contractual plans
or arrangements such as continuity plans, subscription arrangements,
standing order arrangements and series arrangements under which the
supplier periodically ships property to a consumer who has affirmatively
ordered or requested in advance to receive such property on a periodic
basis.

      (c) (e) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the Kansas
consumer protection act.

      Sec.  2. K.S.A. 50-617 is hereby repealed.

      Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.

Approved April 8, 1999.
__________