GEC C.S.H.B. 2128 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS


BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
C.S.H.B. 2128
By: Janek
4-15-97
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND 

Currently, telephone solicitors can block their identity on caller
identification devices.  

PURPOSE

HB 2128 would require telephone solicitors, based in Texas, to reveal on
caller identification devices that they are a telephone solicitor.  It
would  require that a code name be given to solicitors that would appear
on caller ID boxes. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Act, Section 3.302, by
making an    exception to the per-call and per-line blocking requirements
through the    addition of new subsection (e).  Subsection (e) would
prohibit a provider    of Caller ID from offering per-call or per-line
blocking to a telephone    solicitor, and would require that the caller
identification information of the    solicitor indicate him as a
solicitor. 

SECTION 2.  Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 is amended by making
telecommunications providers notify their customers with caller ID and
provide them with the "identification of telephone solicitor" code.
Per-line    blocks by solicitors must be removed by January 1, 1998. 

SECTION 3.  Effective Date of this Act is September 1, 1997.

SECTION 4.  Emergency Clause.



COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

SECTION 1.  Subsection (e) would now prohibit telemarketers from using any
method to per-call block or per-line block their identity from a caller
identification device rather than prohibiting the providers from offering
per-call blocking and per-line blocking to the telemarketer. Also,
subsection (e) of the original bill would no longer require an "ID code"
be given to telemarketer but require the phrase "telephone solicitor" or
"solicitor" to appear on the ID devise.     

SECTION 2.  The original bill required the provider to distribute the "ID
code" of the telemarketer to their customers who had caller ID services.
The substitute no longer required this section since the responsibility of
caller ID subscription was put on the telemarketer.  The remaining
sections of the substitute were then renumbered.