BILL NUMBER: AB 1676	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bowen

                        JANUARY 14, 1998

   An act to amend Section 17538.4 of the Business and Professions
Code, relating to advertising.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1676, as introduced, Bowen.  Advertising: electronic mail.
   Existing law prohibits a person conducting business in this state
from faxing unsolicited advertising material, unless certain
conditions are satisfied.
   This bill would expand that prohibition to include the
transmission of unsolicited advertising by electronic mail, and would
make several related changes.
   Existing law provides for the regulation of advertising and
provides that a violation of those provisions is a crime.  This bill,
by creating additional prohibitions with regard to advertising,
would expand the scope of an existing crime, thereby imposing 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 17538.4 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   17538.4.  (a) No person or entity conducting business in this
state shall fax or cause to be faxed  or electronically mail or
cause to be electronically mailed  documents consisting of
unsolicited advertising material for the lease, sale, rental, gift
offer, or other disposition of any realty, goods, services, or
extension of credit unless that person or entity establishes a
toll-free telephone number which a recipient of the unsolicited faxed
 or electronically mailed  documents may call to notify the
sender not to fax  or electronically mail  the recipient
any further unsolicited documents.
   (b) All unsolicited faxed  or electronically mailed 
documents subject to this section shall include a statement, in at
least 9-point type, informing the recipient of the toll-free
telephone number the recipient may call, and  an 
 a valid return  address  to which  the recipient
may write  to   or electronically mail, as the
case may be  , notifying the sender not to fax  or
electronically mail  the recipient any further unsolicited
documents to the fax number, or numbers,  or electronic mail
address, or addresses,  specified by the recipient.
   (c) Upon notification by a recipient of his or her request not to
receive any further unsolicited faxed  or electronically mailed
 documents, no person or entity conducting business in this
state shall fax or cause to be faxed  or electronically mail or
cause to be electronically mailed  any unsolicited documents to
that recipient.
   (d) Any violation of subdivision (c) is an infraction punishable
by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) for each and every
transmission.
   (e) As used in this section, "fax" or "cause to be faxed"  or
"electronically mail" or "cause to be electronically mailed" 
shall not include or refer to the transmission of any documents by a
telecommunications utility  or Internet service provider  to
the extent that the telecommunications utility  or Internet
service provider  merely carries that transmission over its
network.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
   Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.