BILL NUMBER: AB 2467 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Monning
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 2889.9 of, and to add Section
2890.5 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications.
3007.5 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2467, as amended, Monning. Telecommunications:
customer service. Elections: vote by mail.
Exiting law permits a voter to apply to his or her elections
official for a vote by mail ballot between the 29th and the 7th day
prior to an election. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to
prepare and distribute to appropriate elections officials a uniform
electronic application for a vote by mail ballot. Existing law
requires the uniform electronic application to contain space to
provide specified information, including the date on which the
application must be received by the elections official prior to the
election. Existing law also requires the uniform electronic
application to contain specified statements related to voting.
This bill would delete the requirement that the uniform electronic
application contain space to include the date on which the
application is due and would instead provide that the uniform
electronic application state that the application is due 7 days prior
to the election. The bill would provide that the specified
statements related to voting be substantially similar to those
statements currently found in these provisions.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to implement
programs to provide services to the deaf and hearing impaired.
Existing law also directs the commission to require, or directly
requires of telephone corporations, specific consumer protections
relating to telecommunications services, including provisions that
regulate various billing and collection practices, access to "911"
service, handling of customer complaints, and disclosures of certain
information to the customer. Existing law authorizes the commission
to adopt rules, regulations and issue decisions and orders, as
necessary, to safeguard the rights of consumers and to enforce those
provisions.
This bill would require, rather than authorize, the commission to
adopt rules and regulations and issue decisions and orders, as
necessary, to safeguard the rights of consumers and to enforce those
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 30 07.5 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
3007.5. (a) The Secretary of State shall prepare and distribute
to appropriate elections officials a uniform electronic application
format for a vote by mail voter's ballot that conforms to this
section.
(b) The uniform electronic application shall inform the voter
that the application for the vote by mail voter's ballot must be
received by the elections official not later than seven days prior to
the date of the election and shall contain spaces for at least
the following information:
(1) The name and residence address of the registered voter as it
appears on the affidavit of registration.
(2) The address to which the ballot is to be mailed.
(3) The name and date of the election for which the request is
made.
(4) The date the application must be received by the elections
official.
(5)
(4) The date of birth of the registered voter.
(c) The uniform electronic application shall inform the voter that
if he or she is not affiliated with a political party, the voter may
request a vote by mail ballot for a particular political party for
the primary election, if that political party has adopted a party
rule, duly noticed to the Secretary of State, authorizing that vote.
The application shall contain a toll-free telephone number,
established by the Secretary of State, that the voter may call to
access information regarding which political parties have adopted
such a rule. The application shall list the parties that have
notified the Secretary of State of the adoption of such a rule. The
application shall contain a checkoff box with a conspicuously printed
statement that reads , as follows
substantially similar to the following : "I am not presently
affiliated with any political party. However, for this primary
election only, I request a vote by mail ballot for the ____ Party."
The name of the political party shall be personally affixed by the
voter.
(d) The uniform electronic application shall contain a
conspicuously printed statement , as follows
substantially similar to the following : "Only the registered
voter himself or herself may apply for a vote by mail ballot. An
application for a vote by mail ballot made by a person other than the
registered voter is a criminal offense."
(e) The uniform electronic application shall include the
following a statement sub
stantially similar to the following : "A ballot will not be
sent to you if this application is incomplete or inaccurate."
(f) The uniform electronic application format shall not permit the
form to be electronically submitted unless all of the information
required to complete the application is contained in the appropriate
fields.
SECTION 1. Section 2889.9 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
2889.9. (a) No person or corporation shall misrepresent its
association or affiliation with a telephone carrier when soliciting,
inducing, or otherwise implementing the subscriber's agreement to
purchase the products or services of the person or corporation, and
have the charge for the product or service appear on the subscriber's
telephone bill.
(b) Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 2100) of Part 1 of
Division 1 applies to a public utility subject to this section and
Section 2890. If the commission finds that a person or corporation or
its billing agent that is a nonpublic utility, and is subject to
this section and Section 2890, has violated any requirement of this
article, or knowingly provided false information to the commission on
matters subject to this section and Section 2890, the commission may
enforce Sections 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 2106, 2107, 2108, 2109,
2110, 2111, and 2114 against those persons, corporations, and billing
agents as if the persons, corporations, or billing agents were a
public utility. Neither this authority nor any other provision of
this article grants the commission jurisdiction to regulate persons
or corporations or their billing agents who are not otherwise subject
to commission regulation, other than as specifically set forth in
this section and Section 2890.
(c) If the commission finds that a person, corporation, or billing
agent is operating in violation of any provision of this section and
Section 2890, the commission may order the billing telephone company
to terminate the billing and collection services for that person,
corporation, or billing agent. Nothing in this section and Section
2890 precludes a billing telephone company from taking action on its
own to terminate billing and collection services.
(d) The commission shall establish rules that require each billing
telephone company, billing agent, and company that provides products
or services that are charged on subscribers' telephone bills, to
provide the commission with reports of complaints made by subscribers
regarding the billing for products or services that are charged on
their telephone bills as a result of the billing and collection
services that the billing telephone company provides to third
parties, including affiliates of the billing telephone company.
(e) If the commission receives more than 100 complaints regarding
unauthorized telephone charges in any 90-day period as to a person,
corporation, or billing agent's activities that are subject to
Section 2890 and this section, the commission's consumer services
division shall commence a formal or informal investigation. The
commission, to further the purposes of Section 2890 and this section,
may change the number of complaints in any 90-day period that
initiates the commencement of an investigation. This subdivision does
not prohibit the commission's consumer services division from
opening any investigation it deems necessary to enforce Section 2890
or this section.
(f) Failure by a person, corporation, or billing agent to respond
to commission staff requests for information is grounds for the
commission to order the billing telephone company or companies that
are providing billing and collection services to cease billing and
collection services for the person, corporation, or billing agent.
(g) Persons or corporations originating charges for products or
services, their billing agents, and telephone corporations billing
for these products or services shall cooperate with the commission in
the commission's efforts to enforce this article.
(h) This section and Section 2890 do not obligate a billing
telephone company to provide billing and collection services to a
billing agent.
(i) For purposes of this section, "billing agent" means the
clearinghouse or billing aggregator.
SEC. 2. Section 2890.5 is added to the Public
Utilities Code, to read:
2890.5. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations and
issue decisions and orders, as necessary, to safeguard the rights of
consumers and to enforce this article.