BILL NUMBER: AB 2654 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hill
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 17533.6 of the Business and Professions
Code, relating to solicitations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2654, as amended, Hill. Solicitations.
Existing law makes it unlawful for any person, firm, or
corporation, or association that is a nongovernmental entity to
solicit funds or information by means of a mailing, electronic
message, or Internet Web site that contains any term or symbol that
reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying any state or
local government connection, approval, or endorsement, unless the
nongovernmental entity has an expressed connection with a state or
local entity or unless the solicitation and mailing contains a
specified disclosure that it is not a governmental document. Existing
law also requires a business that solicits the purchase of, or
payment for, a service by means of an unsolicited mailing offering to
assist the recipient in dealing with a state or local governmental
agency to disclose on the envelope and in the mailing that the
business is not a governmental agency and is not associated with the
governmental agency rereferenced. A violation of these or other
provisions related to advertising is a crime
misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to
6 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both .
This bill would also make it unlawful for these solicitations
to contain an emblem or other language or specified title, trade, or
brand names, that reasonably could be interpreted or construed as
implying any state or local government connection, approval, or
endorsement and would require those the
disclosures to be conspicuously posted on the top of
the first page of the solicitation or mailing
displayed apart from other print in the solicitation and on the
envelope, cover, or wrapper in which the solicitation is mailed, as
specified . Because a violation of this provision
would be a crime, the bill would The bill would
authorize a person to recover specified damages if the person is
harmed from a violation of the provisions regulating the solicitation
of funds or information by a nongovernmental entity. The bill would
establish specified fines and criminal penalties for a violation of
these provisions, and thereby 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:
SECTION 1. Section 17533.6 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
17533.6. (a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or
association that is a nongovernmental entity to solicit information,
or to solicit the purchase of or payment for a product or service,
or to solicit the contribution of funds or membership fees, by means
of a mailing, electronic message, or Internet Web site that contains
a seal, emblem, insignia, trade or brand name, or any
other language, term , or symbol that
reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying any state or
local government connection, approval, or endorsement, unless the
requirements of paragraph (1) or (2) have been met, as follows:
(1) The nongovernmental entity has an expressed connection with,
or the approval or endorsement of, a state or local government
entity, if permitted by other provisions of law.
(2) The solicitation meets both all
of the following requirements:
(A) The solicitation bears on its face, in conspicuous
and legible type in contrast by typography, layout, or color with
other type on its face, the following notice:
conspicuously displays the following disclosure on the front and back
of every page of the solicitation:
"THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY ANY
GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, AND THIS OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE BY AN AGENCY OF
THE GOVERNMENT."
(B) In the case of a mailed solicitation, the envelope or outside
cover or wrapper in which the matter is mailed bears on its
face in capital letters and in conspicuous and legible type, the
following notice: conspicuously displays the following
disclosure:
"THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT."
(C) The disclosure in subparagraph (A) shall be displayed
conspicuously, as provided in subdivision (f), and immediately below
each portion of the solicitation that reasonably could be construed
to specify an amount due and payable by the recipient. The disclosure
in subparagraph (B) shall be displayed conspicuously, as provided in
subdivision (f), and immediately below the area of the envelope,
outside cover, or wrapper that is used for a return address. The
disclosures in subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not be preceded,
followed, or surrounded by language, words, symbols, terms, or other
content that result in the disclosures not being conspicuous or that
introduce, modify, qualify, or explain the text of those disclosures.
(D) The solicitation shall not use a title or trade or brand name
that reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying any
state or local government connection, approval, or endorsement,
including, but not limited to, use of the word "agency,"
"administrative," "assessor," "board," "bureau," "collector,"
"commission," "committee," "department," "division," "recorder,"
"unit," "state," "county," "city," or "municipal," or the name of any
government agency.
(E) The solicitation shall not state or imply that payment to any
person, firm, corporation, or association that is not a government
entity is mandatory or required by law, or state or imply that
penalties, fines, or consequences will occur if payment is not made
to the soliciting nongovernmental person, firm, corporation, or
association.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any business that
solicits the purchase of, or payment for, a service by means of an
unsolicited mailing that offers to assist the recipient in dealing
with a state or local governmental agency shall do both of
the following:
(1) State
conspicuously state on the envelope and in the mailing
that the business is not a governmental agency and is not associated
with the governmental agency referenced.
(2) Include in the mailing the contact information for the
governmental agency referenced.
(c) Subdivision (b) shall not apply if either of the
following requirements has been met:
(1) The
the business has an expressed connection with, or the
approval or endorsement of, a state or local governmental entity, if
permitted by other provisions of law.
(2) The business has an "established business relationship," as
defined in Section 1798.83 of the Civil Code, with the recipient.
(d) The notice or statement required by subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or by paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b) shall be conspicuously posted on the top of the first page of the
solicitation or mailing.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 17534, any violation of this section
is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(e) Any person who is harmed as a result of a violation of this
section shall be entitled to recover, in addition to any other
available remedies, damages in an amount equal to three times the
amount solicited.
(f) For purposes of this section, "conspicuous" or "conspicuously"
means displayed apart from other print on the page, envelope,
outside cover, or wrapper and in not less than 12-point boldface font
type in capital letters that is at least 2-point boldface font type
sizes larger than the next largest print on the page, envelope,
outside cover, or wrapper and in contrasting type, layout, font, or
color in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
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