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Meetings

Rules: Jun 21, 2012

Calendars

Active List: Jun 21, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 20, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 21, 2012

Votes

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S7595A

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general business law, in relation to restricting pay-per-call services

PURPOSE: To prohibit the practice of holding a contest in which the pay-per-call service, which is needed to claim the prize, charges a higher fee for the transmission of the call as assessed by a telephone corporation regulated by the public service commission.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Amends Section 369-ee of the General Business law bay adding a new subdivision 2-a to make it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to offer a consumer a prize, if in order to claim the prize, the consumer must call a pay-per-call service where the charge for such service is greater than the charge for the transmission of the call as assessed by a telephone corporation regulated by the public service commission.

JUSTIFICATION: Every year, thousands of misleading phone calls are automatically placed to consumers, by a person, firm, or corporation leading them to believe, they had won a contest. In order to claim their prize, which could be anything from "new watch" to a "35mm camera", they are told that they have to place a return phone call to a given number. In most cases, the cost of the return phone call costs up to $9.95 a minute resulting in an excessive phone bill, which ends up being more expensive than the prize itself.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect 30 days after the date on which it shall have become law.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

7595--A

IN SENATE

June 6, 2012
___________

Introduced by Sen. FUSCHILLO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed  to  be  committed  to the Committee on Consumer Protection --
  committee discharged and said bill committed to the Committee on Rules
  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
  and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT  to  amend  the general business law, in relation to restricting
  pay-per-call services

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  369-ee of the general business law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
  2-A. PRIZE CLAIMS BY PAY-PER-CALL SERVICES.  IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL  FOR
ANY PERSON, FIRM OR CORPORATION TO OFFER A CONSUMER A PRIZE, IF IN ORDER
TO  CLAIM THE PRIZE, THE CONSUMER MUST CALL A PAY-PER-CALL SERVICE WHERE
THE CHARGE FOR SUCH PAY-PER-CALL SERVICE IS  GREATER  THAN  THE  SERVICE
CHARGE  AUTHORIZED  BY THE APPROPRIATE REGULATORY COMMISSION. AS USED IN
THIS SUBDIVISION "PAY-PER-CALL SERVICE" MEANS ANY TELEPHONE SERVICE  FOR
WHICH THE CALLING PARTY IS ASSESSED, BY VIRTUE OF COMPLETING THE CALL, A
CHARGE FOR WHICH THE CALLER PAYS A PER-CALL OR PER-TIME CHARGE.
  S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08552-02-2