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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the regulation of call centers; providing a civil |
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penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is |
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amended by adding Chapter 113 to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 113. CALL CENTERS |
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SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS |
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Sec. 113.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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(1) "Call center" means a business entity or a |
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division of a business entity with a primary purpose involving |
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initiating or receiving telephone communications on behalf of a |
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person for the purpose of initiating sales, including making a |
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telephone solicitation as defined by Section 302.001, providing |
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services, or providing or receiving information in connection with |
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the provision of services. |
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(2) "Customer" means a resident of this state who |
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receives a call from or places a call to a call center. |
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(3) "Customer service employee" means a person |
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employed by or working on behalf of a call center. |
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(4) "Department" means the Texas Department of |
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Insurance. |
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(5) "Public agency" means this state or an agency, |
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instrumentality, or political subdivision of this state, including |
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a county, municipality, public school district, or special-purpose |
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district or authority. |
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(6) "Public subsidy" means a program, benefit, or |
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assistance of any type offered by a public agency that is designed |
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to stimulate the economic development of a corporation, industry, |
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or sector of the state's economy or to create or retain jobs in this |
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state. The term includes grants, loans, loan guarantees, benefits |
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relating to an enterprise or empowerment zone, fee waivers, land |
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price subsidies, infrastructure development and improvements |
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designed to principally benefit a single business or defined group |
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of businesses, matching funds, tax refunds, tax rebates, or tax |
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abatements offered by a public agency. |
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Sec. 113.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to a |
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business that is a call center or operates a call center only if the |
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business: |
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(1) has at least 50 customer service employees located |
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in this state, excluding customer service employees who work less |
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than 20 hours per week; or |
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(2) has at least 50 customer service employees located |
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in this state who, in the aggregate, work a total of at least 1,500 |
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hours per week. |
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SUBCHAPTER B. RELOCATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE EMPLOYEE POSITIONS |
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Sec. 113.101. NOTICE REQUIRED; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A |
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business shall notify the department if the business plans to: |
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(1) terminate customer service employee positions in |
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this state that handle at least 50 percent of total customer service |
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call volume for the business, as measured against the previous 12 |
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months average customer service call volume of the business; and |
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(2) relocate the duties of those positions to persons |
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in one or more call centers located outside of the United States. |
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(b) The business shall notify the department of its intent |
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to terminate and relocate the positions at least 120 days before the |
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termination or relocation of the positions. |
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(c) A business that violates this section is liable to this |
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state for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for |
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each day that the business is in violation. |
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(d) The attorney general may bring suit to recover the |
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civil penalty imposed under Subsection (c). |
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Sec. 113.102. LIST OF BUSINESSES THAT RELOCATE CUSTOMER |
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SERVICE EMPLOYEE POSITIONS. (a) The department shall maintain a |
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list of businesses that have terminated and relocated customer |
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service employee positions as described by Section 113.101. |
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(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a business that is |
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added to the list may not be removed from the list before the fifth |
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anniversary of the date the business was added to the list. |
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(c) The department shall make the list available to the |
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public and shall semiannually distribute the list to all state |
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agencies and the Better Business Bureau. |
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(d) The department shall remove a business from the list if |
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the business relocates in this state as many customer service |
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employee positions as the business terminated and relocated causing |
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the business to be added to the list. |
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SUBCHAPTER C. PUBLIC AGENCY CONTRACTS AND SUBSIDIES |
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Sec. 113.201. PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN BUSINESSES. In |
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awarding a contract for services, a public agency shall give |
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preference to a vendor, bidder, contractor, or subcontractor that |
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does not appear on the list maintained under Section 113.102. |
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Sec. 113.202. PUBLIC SUBSIDIES PROHIBITED. (a) Except as |
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provided by Subsection (b), a public agency may not award or provide |
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a public subsidy to a business that appears on the list maintained |
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under Section 113.102. |
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(b) A public agency, after consulting with the department, |
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may award a public subsidy if the business applying for the subsidy |
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shows that the refusal to grant the subsidy would: |
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(1) result in substantial job loss in the state; or |
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(2) harm the environment. |
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Sec. 113.203. REPAYMENT OF PUBLIC SUBSIDY. A business that |
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has received a public subsidy and that is placed on the list |
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maintained under Section 113.102 after the business was awarded the |
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public subsidy shall repay the full amount of the public subsidy. |
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SUBCHAPTER D. DUTY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE EMPLOYEES |
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Sec. 113.301. DUTY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE EMPLOYEE. On the |
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request of a customer, a business shall ensure that each customer |
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service employee who communicates with a customer on behalf of the |
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business: |
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(1) discloses to the customer: |
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(A) the city, state, and country where the |
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customer service employee is located; |
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(B) the name or registered alias of the customer |
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service employee; and |
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(C) the name of the employer of the customer |
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service employee; |
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(2) enables the customer to speak to an employee of the |
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business on whose behalf the call center is communicating with the |
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customer; and |
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(3) transfers the call to a person in this state, if |
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the customer service employee is not in this state. |
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SUBCHAPTER E. STATE AGENCY CALL CENTERS |
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Sec. 113.401. STATE AGENCY CALL CENTERS. All call center |
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services performed on behalf of a state agency must be performed in |
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this state. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 113, Business & Commerce Code, as added |
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by this Act, applies only to a bid for a contract submitted or an |
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application for a public subsidy filed on or after the effective |
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date of this Act. A bid for a contract submitted or an application |
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filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law |
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in effect on the date the bid was submitted or the application was |
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filed, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this |
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section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2020. |
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(b) Section 113.301, Business & Commerce Code, as added by |
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this Act, takes effect January 1, 2022. |