By Driver                                             H.B. No. 2420
         76R7552 DWS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to an advertisement sent to a facsimile machine.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Chapter 37, Business & Commerce Code, is amended
 1-5     by adding Section 37.031 to read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 37.031.  ADVERTISEMENT SENT TO FACSIMILE MACHINE.  (a)
 1-7     In this section:
 1-8                 (1)  "Advertisement" means any material advertising
 1-9     commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or
1-10     services.
1-11                 (2)  "Unsolicited advertisement" means an advertisement
1-12     transmitted to any person without that person's prior express
1-13     invitation or permission.
1-14           (b)  A person may not use any telephone facsimile machine,
1-15     computer, or other device to send to a telephone facsimile machine:
1-16                 (1)  an unsolicited advertisement; or
1-17                 (2)  an advertisement that does not contain a toll-free
1-18     telephone number that the recipient may call and address to which
1-19     the recipient may write to request that the sender of the
1-20     advertisement not send any additional advertisements to the
1-21     facsimile machine.
1-22           (c)  A person to whom a recipient of an advertisement has
1-23     submitted a request under Subsection (b)(2) may not send any
1-24     additional advertisement to that facsimile machine.
 2-1           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 2-2           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
 2-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 2-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 2-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 2-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.