BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 792
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 12, 2009

                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
                                 Mary Hayashi, Chair
                    AB 792 (Duvall) - As Amended:  April 29, 2009
           
          SUBJECT  :  Business: mail solicitations.

           SUMMARY  :   Permits a solicitor to include a space on a mail  
          solicitation for a consumer's phone number.  

           EXISTING LAW  requires that an express written permission  
          allowing a telephone solicitor to call a "do-not-call" list  
          subscriber to include a clear and conspicuous disclaimer of all  
          of the following:

          1)Identification of the name of the sender of the mailing and of  
            the entity that is requesting permission to call.

          2)The subscriber's telephone number to which the calls may be  
            made.

          3)The signature of the subscriber authorizing the call.

          4)Notice that the subscriber may be contacted by a telephone  
            solicitor or someone calling on behalf of the specific party  
            identified in the request for permission, even if the  
            subscriber's telephone number is listed on the federal  
            "do-not-call" registry.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal.

           COMMENTS  :   

           Purpose of this bill  .  According to the author's office, "The  
          proposed technical changes will allow consumers to provide an  
          accurate telephone number, when it is not known by the entity  
          sending a solicitation by mail." 

           Background  .  This bill makes technical changes to AB 2059  
          (Nunez), Chapter 738, Statutes of 2008, which was meant to  
          protect consumers from unknowingly waiving their rights under  
          federal and state do-not-call laws by requiring disclosures on  
          lead cards used to obtain a consumer's permission to be  
          solicited by telephone.  Current law requires solicitors to  








                                                                  AB 792
                                                                  Page  2

          include the subscriber's telephone number to which the calls may  
          be made, but in certain cases this may not be known.  This bill  
          would allow solicitors to comply with that requirement by  
          providing a space on the solicitation for the consumer to  
          provide his or her telephone number to the sender of the  
          mailing.  This bill appears to be consistent with a letter of  
          intent submitted to the Assembly Journal on August 15, 2008 by  
          Assembly Speaker Emeritus Nunez expressing that a sender of a  
          mailing may provide a space for the consumer to provide a  
          telephone number and be in compliance with the requirements of  
          AB 2059.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Association of California Life & Health Insurance Companies

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sarah Huchel / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301