BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2795


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                    ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE


                                  Mike Gatto, Chair


          AB 2795  
          (Lopez) - As Amended March 17, 2016


          SUBJECT:  Telephony:  unlisted numbers


          SUMMARY:  Prohibits a telephone corporation from charging  
          subscribers for not having their residential telephone number  
          listed in a directory or publicly available directory assistance  
          database.  


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Prohibits a telephone corporation selling or licensing lists  
            of residential subscribers, from including the telephone  
            number of any subscriber assigned an unlisted or unpublished  
            access number.  Specifies that a subscriber may waive all or  
            part of the protection through written notice to the telephone  
            corporation.  (Public Utilities Code Section 2891.1)


          2)Prohibits a provider of mobile telephony services, or any  
            direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a provider, from  
            providing the name and dialing number of a subscriber for  
            inclusion in any directory of any form, or selling the  
            contents of any directory database, or any portion or segment,  
            from including the dialing number of any subscriber without  








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            first obtaining the express consent of that subscriber.   
            (Public Utilities Code Section 2891.1)


          3)Specifies that a subscriber may not be charged for making the  
            choice to not have their name and mobile telephony dialing  
            number listed in a publicly available directory assistance  
            database. (Public Utilities Code Section 2891.1)


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.


          COMMENTS:  


          1)Author's Statement:  "Generally, consumers have a difficult  
            time fighting against large corporations that have unjust  
            practices.  This fee to keep a person's private information as  
            'unlisted' may be cost-prohibitive to low-income families and  
            the elderly, who may live on fixed incomes.  Many times, these  
            monthly fees are added to a person's phone bill without their  
            knowledge; often, this disadvantaged population rely and count  
            every single cent to make ends meet.  Furthermore,  
            publications of 'unlisted numbers' is particularly dangerous  
            for victims of domestic violence that have been enrolled in  
            'Safe at Home,' a program designed to protect victims and  
            survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault or  
            victims of elder abuse.  This disclosure can lead to  
            potentially dangerous consequences for these persons that pay  
            a service to ensure their privacy and safety." 


          2)Background:  In 2006, the California Public Utilities  
            Commission (CPUC) deregulated landline telephone services in  
            order to promote a competitive environment. By deregulating,  
            the CPUC chose not to constrain the price that telephone  
            companies may charge for telephone services.  The CPUC could  








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            still exercise its general regulatory authority to stop a rate  
            increase, but there has been little indication that they would  
            do so.  The CPUC does not regulate wireless services, nor  
            other Internet based voice service, such as Voice over  
            Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Smaller telephone companies  
            continue to be regulated by the CPUC. 


          3)Unlisted and Unpublished Numbers:  Most telephone companies  
            provide subscribers with the option to unlist or unpublish  
            their telephone numbers.  Unlisted service is an option in  
            which a subscriber may have their telephone number not listed  
            in any directory, such as white pages.  Unpublished service is  
            an option in which subscribers may have their telephone  
            numbers not listed in any directory or directory assistance,  
            such as 4-1-1.  


            Before the CPUC deregulated local telephone services, AT&T  
            charged $0.28 per month to have their telephone numbers  
            unlisted/unpublished.  After deregulation, AT&T charged $1.50  
            per month for unlisted services and $1.75 per month for  
            unpublished services. According to AT&T, there is no charge  
            for a new customer to initiate the service; however, it does  
            charge existing customers $6.65 to initiate unlisted services  
            in addition to the monthly recurring charge. There is no  
            charge for limiting the information published in a directory,  
            such as providing a customer's initials only aside from their  
            full name, nor is there a charge for blocking a number from  
            appearing on a Caller ID.  However, according to The Utility  
            Reform Network (TURN), AT&T currently imposes a $2.25 monthly  
            charge for unlisted services and $4.95 monthly charge for  
            unpublished services.  Comcast charges a total fee of $3.50  
            per month to have a subscribers number unpublished, according  
            to a recent settlement with the Attorney General over the  
            publication of approximately 74,000 unlisted numbers. 


            Smaller companies that are still regulated by the CPUC are  








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            prohibited from charging subscribers a fee for unlisted  
            numbers.  Current law also prohibits providers of mobile  
            telephony services, from including the dialing number of any  
            subscriber in any directory without first obtaining the  
            express consent of that subscriber.  This bill extends the  
            existing prohibition for mobile telephone services, to  
            landline services.  VoIP service providers are not affected by  
            this bill. 


            This bill prohibits a telephone corporation from charging a  
            subscriber for not having his or her residential telephone  
            number listed in a directory or publicly available directory  
            assistance database.  


          4)Price vs. Cost:  It is unclear if the price of unlisting a  
            number reflects the cost of doing so.  The telephone industry  
            argues that there are identifiable costs associated with  
            unlisting a number and to keep it unlisted monthly.   In  
            addition, opponents argue that historically it has been  
            government policy to promote the goal of universal service,  
            access, and communication to promote economic development and  
            communications between one another.  However, as the number of  
            landline subscribers continues to decrease, and the number of  
            wireless and VoIP subscribers increase, and because current  
            law already prohibits mobile telephone services from listing  
            numbers without a subscriber's consent, the number of publicly  
            listed numbers will naturally decrease as well. 


          5)Privacy and Safety: Although California law encourages  
            customers to list their telephone numbers by requiring free  
            directory listings and the distribution of free white pages  
            directories, the California Constitution expressly guarantees  
            an individual's right to privacy.  If a subscriber chooses to  
            have his or her telephone number unlisted, they have a right  
            to do so, without being impeded by the cost of doing so.  
            Unlisted services not only provide services for those seeking  








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            privacy, but also provide protections for individuals more  
            susceptible to public safety dangers, such as law enforcement  
            officials, prison guards, and crime victims. 


            According to the author, publications of "unlisted numbers"  
            can lead to potentially dangerous consequences for these  
            persons, such as domestic violence victims, that pay a service  
            to ensure their privacy and safety.  California's Safe at Home  
            Program provides individuals, including victims of domestic  
            violence and elder abuse, services to protect certain  
            information from behind disclosed to other parties, including  
            child information, mail forwarding, name change, voter  
            registration, driving record suppression and internet  
            disclosure prohibitions. It is unclear if such individuals are  
            currently required to pay the fee to have their telephone  
            numbers unlisted/unpublished.  The author argues that the cost  
            of being unlisted detrimentally affects such victims who may  
            be elderly and low income, and live on fixed incomes.  


          6)Arguments in Support:  According to The Utility Reform Network  
            (TURN), the sponsor of the bill, "Since the [CPUC] voted to  
            deregulate phone service in 2007, the monthly fee for the  
            'service' of not printing a subscriber's private contact  
            information in public phone books has continued to increase.   
            Customers pay each month to keep their personal information  
            out of public databases not only to preserve their privacy,  
            but to protect their safety ? This publication of 'unlisted  
            numbers' is particularly dangerous for victims of domestic  
            violence that have been enrolled in 'Safe at Home,' a program  
            designed to protect victims and survivors of domestic  
            violence, stalking, sexual assault or victims of elder abuse.  
            This disclosure can lead to potentially dangerous consequences  
            for these persons that pay a service to ensure their privacy  
            and safety.  Furthermore, this service detrimentally effects  
            the elderly and low-income which live on fixed incomes. Often  
            times, these vulnerable populations are charged these fees  
            unknowingly; where every cent is important to their daily  








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            lives.  Telephone companies should not be allowed to profit by  
            limiting or invading the right of privacy of vulnerable  
            citizens of California."


          7)Arguments in Opposition:  According to AT&T, Frontier  
            Communications, Consolidated Communications, and the  
            California Cable & Telecommunications Association, "Government  
            policy has long promoted the public distribution of telephone  
            numbers through telephone directories? Historically, public  
            policy and practice have promoted the telephone number and  
            telephone network as means of communications and economic  
            development. For decades, consumer have used directories to  
            access numbers for government agencies, social services,  
            businesses, friends and neighbors ? AB 2795 is wrongly  
            characterized as a privacy issue. Telephone numbers are not  
            inherently private ? Instead, AB 2795 is a misguided attempt  
            at selective price regulation in a competitive industry."


          8)Prior Legislation:  


            SB 437 (Pavley) 2009:  Prohibits all telephone corporations,  
            including cellphone companies, from charging customers for  
            having a unlisted telephone number.  Failed Passage in the  
            Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.


            SB 1423 (Kuehl) 2008:  Prohibits all telephone company  
            customers from charging for an unlisted telephone number.   
            Died on the Senate Floor.





          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:









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          Support


          The Utility Reform Network (Sponsor)


          Consumer Federation of California




          Opposition


          AT&T


          California Cable & Telecommunications Association


          Consolidated Communications


          Frontier Communications




          Analysis Prepared by:Edmond Cheung / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083















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