Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2609


Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

February 19, 2016


An act to add Section 17531.3 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to advertising.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2609, as amended, Chau. Advertising: educational conferences.

Existing law prohibits various specified advertising practices, including, among others,begin delete a prohibition onend delete an educational travelbegin delete organization, as defined, from placing or usingend deletebegin insert organization’s, as defined, placement or use ofend insert any misleading or untruthful advertising or statements or makingbegin insert ofend insert a substantial misrepresentation in conducting an educational travel program. Under existing law, the violation of any of these prohibitions is a misdemeanor.

This bill would require an educational conference organization, as defined, that provides materials related to an educational conference, as defined, directly to a school or school employee for purposes of distribution to a student to include specified disclosures in the materials and to provide the materials in a sealed envelope or other packaging addressed to the parent or legal guardian of the student.begin delete The bill would also prohibit the organization from addressing the materials to a student by name or otherwise requesting that materials be provided directly to the student.end delete As a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) begin deleteK-12 end deletebegin insertK-12 end insertstudents are particularly vulnerable to
4solicitations for educational leadership conferences or forums that
5may appear to be selective awards or competitive honors, but are
6in fact sophisticatedbegin delete solicitations, oftenend deletebegin insert solicitationsend insert from for-profit
7companies.

8(b) While such conferences and forums may have merit as
9learning experiences for students, it is nevertheless important to
10ensure that students, parents, and teachers are not misled by these
11solicitations. The State of California has previously enacted laws
12regulating educational travel organizations in order to protect
13students engaged in educational travel.

14(c) Because it is of the utmost importance that the State of
15California take action to protect students frombegin delete misleading or falseend delete
16begin insert false or misleadingend insert advertising, promotebegin delete quality inend deletebegin insert high-qualityend insert
17 educational travel experiences, encourage public confidence in
18leadershipbegin delete conferences or forums,end deletebegin insert conferences,end insert and assist
19organizations soliciting participation in these conferencesbegin delete or forumsend delete
20 in complying with safe and reputable practices, it is the intent of
21the Legislature to establish appropriatebegin insert marketing restrictions andend insert
22 disclosure requirementsbegin delete and further restrictionsend delete on these
23solicitations.

begin insert

24
(d) The Legislature recognizes the contributions that many
25nonprofit service organizations have made in the area of youth
26leadership training, such as the Boys and Girls State programs
27organized by the American Legion and the Rotary Youth
28Leadership Awards and Interact programs operated by the Rotary
29Club. These programs have demonstrated a strong commitment
30to youth education and civic awareness in diverse communities
P3    1across the nation for decades, often at little or no cost to the
2participants.

end insert
3

SEC. 2.  

Section 17531.3 is added to the Business and
4Professions Code
, to read:

5

17531.3.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
6have the following meanings:

7(1) “Educational conference” means abegin delete leadershipend delete conference,
8forum, camp, or other similar event,begin insert intended to develop the
9leadership, career, or college readiness of a student or provide
10some other form of educational benefit,end insert
when participation in the
11event is represented as being limited to studentsbegin delete nominatedend delete
12begin insert receiving an award, invitation, or nominationend insert to participate in the
13event.

14(2) “Educational conference organization” or “organization”
15means a person, partnership, corporation, or other entitybegin insert that
16operates in a for-profit manner andend insert
that plans and advertises
17educational conferences to students residing in the State of
18California.

19(3) “Student” means a person who is enrolled in elementary or
20secondary school, grade kindergarten through grade 12, at the time
21an educational conference is arranged with an educational
22conference organization.

23(b) An educational conference organization that provides
24materials related to an educational conference directly to a school
25or any employee thereof for purposes of distribution to a student
26shall comply withbegin delete allend deletebegin insert bothend insert of the following:

27(1) The organization shall provide the materials in a sealed
28envelope or other packaging addressed to the parent or legal
29guardian of the student.

begin delete

30(2) The organization shall not address the materials to a student
31by name or otherwise request that materials be provided directly
32to the student.

end delete
begin delete

15 33(3)

end delete

34begin insert(2)end insert The organization shall include in the materials all of the
35 following disclosures, in clear and conspicuous language:

36(A) That the materials constitute a solicitation for the sale of a
37product.

38(B) The legal form of the organization making the solicitation,
39includingbegin delete whether the organization is a nonprofit or for-profitend deletebegin insert the
40for-profit status of theend insert
organization.

P4    1(C) The legal owner, if any, of the organization making the
2solicitation.

3(D) The specific eligibility criteria required for participation in
4the solicited educational conference or conferences, if any.

5(E) An itemized list of the costs to participate in the educational
6conference and the total price of participating in the educational
7conference, including estimated expenses not included in the price
8of the educational conference.

begin insert

9
(F) That attendance at an educational conference may not affect
10a student’s chances of being admitted to college and that a parent
11or guardian should contact the student’s school counselor for more
12information.

end insert
begin delete

30 13(F)

end delete

14begin insert(G)end insert Whether or not abegin delete third-partyend delete nominationbegin insert from a teacher or
15school administratorend insert
is required to participate in the educational
16conference, or if an individual may be self-nominated or nominated
17by a parent or guardian.

begin delete

33 18(G)

end delete

19begin insert(H)end insert The total amount, if any, of funding or other support,
20including employment or grants for school supplies, the
21organization has provided to the student’s school or the school’s
22employees during the last three years before the date of the
23solicitation.

begin delete

38 24(H)

end delete

25begin insert(I)end insert A phone number, email address, or Internet Web site that a
26parent or guardian may use to contact a government agency within
27the relevant jurisdiction for purposes of filing a complaint related
28to the solicitation orbegin delete solicited educational conference.end deletebegin insert the
29educational conference itself.end insert

30

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
31Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
32the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
33district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
34infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
35for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
36the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
37the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
38Constitution.



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