Full Text of SB2731 93rd General Assembly
SB2731enr 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning utilities.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding | 5 |
| Sections 13-230, 13-231, 13-232, 13-233, 13-404.1, and | 6 |
| 13-404.2 as follows: | 7 |
| (220 ILCS 5/13-230 new) | 8 |
| Sec. 13-230. Prepaid calling service. "Prepaid calling | 9 |
| service" means telecommunications service that must be paid for | 10 |
| in advance by an end user, enables the end user to originate | 11 |
| calls using an access number or authorization code, whether | 12 |
| manually or electronically dialed, and is sold in predetermined | 13 |
| units or dollars of which the number declines with use in a | 14 |
| known amount. A prepaid calling service call is a call made by | 15 |
| an end user using prepaid calling service. "Prepaid calling | 16 |
| service" does not include prepaid wireless telephone service as | 17 |
| defined in Section 10 of the Wireless Emergency Telephone | 18 |
| Safety Act. | 19 |
| (220 ILCS 5/13-231 new) | 20 |
| Sec. 13-231. Prepaid calling service provider. "Prepaid | 21 |
| calling service provider" means and includes every | 22 |
| corporation, company, association, joint stock company or | 23 |
| association, firm, partnership, or individual and their | 24 |
| lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court | 25 |
| whatsoever that contracts directly with a telecommunications | 26 |
| carrier to resell or offers to resell telecommunications | 27 |
| service as prepaid calling service to one or more distributors, | 28 |
| prepaid calling resellers, prepaid calling service retailers, | 29 |
| or end users. | 30 |
| (220 ILCS 5/13-232 new) |
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| Sec. 13-232. Prepaid calling service retailer. "Prepaid | 2 |
| calling service retailer" means and includes every | 3 |
| corporation, company, association, joint stock company or | 4 |
| association, firm, partnership, or individual and their | 5 |
| lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court | 6 |
| whatsoever that sells or offers to sell prepaid calling service | 7 |
| directly to one or more end users. | 8 |
| (220 ILCS 5/13-233 new) | 9 |
| Sec. 13-233. Prepaid calling service reseller. "Prepaid | 10 |
| calling service reseller" means and includes every | 11 |
| corporation, company, association, joint stock company or | 12 |
| association, firm, partnership, or individual and their | 13 |
| lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court | 14 |
| whatsoever that purchases prepaid calling services from a | 15 |
| prepaid calling service provider or distributor and sells those | 16 |
| services to one or more distributors of prepaid calling | 17 |
| services or to one or more prepaid calling service retailers. | 18 |
| (220 ILCS 5/13-404.1 new) | 19 |
| Sec. 13-404.1. Prepaid calling service authority; rules. | 20 |
| (a) The General Assembly finds that it is necessary to | 21 |
| require the certification of prepaid calling service providers | 22 |
| to protect and promote against fraud the legitimate business | 23 |
| interests of persons or entities currently providing prepaid | 24 |
| calling service to Illinois end users and Illinois end users | 25 |
| who purchase these services. | 26 |
| (b) On and after July 1, 2005, it shall be unlawful for any | 27 |
| prepaid calling service provider to offer or provide or seek to | 28 |
| offer or provide to any distributor, prepaid calling service | 29 |
| reseller, prepaid calling service retailer, or end user any | 30 |
| prepaid calling service unless the prepaid calling service | 31 |
| provider has applied for and received a Certificate of Prepaid | 32 |
| Calling Service Provider Authority from the Commission. The | 33 |
| Commission shall approve an application for a Certificate of | 34 |
| Prepaid Calling Service Provider Authority upon a showing by |
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| the applicant, and a finding by the Commission, after notice | 2 |
| and hearing, that the applicant possesses sufficient | 3 |
| technical, financial, and managerial resources and abilities | 4 |
| to provide prepaid calling services. The Commission shall | 5 |
| approve an application for a Certificate of Prepaid Calling | 6 |
| Service Provider Authority without a hearing upon a showing by | 7 |
| the applicant that the Commission has issued an appropriate | 8 |
| Certificate of Service Authority (whether a Certificate of | 9 |
| Interexchange Service Authority or Certificate of Exchange | 10 |
| Service Authority or both) to the applicant or the | 11 |
| telecommunications carrier whose service the applicant is | 12 |
| seeking to resell, provided that the telecommunications | 13 |
| carrier remains in good standing with the Commission. The | 14 |
| Commission may adopt rules necessary for the administration of | 15 |
| this subsection. | 16 |
| (c) Upon issuance of a Certificate of Prepaid Calling | 17 |
| Service Provider Authority to a prepaid calling service | 18 |
| provider, the Commission shall post a list that contains the | 19 |
| full legal name of the prepaid service provider, the docket | 20 |
| number of the provider's certification proceeding, and the | 21 |
| toll-free customer service number of the certified prepaid | 22 |
| calling service provider on the Commission's web site on a link | 23 |
| solely dedicated to prepaid calling service providers. If the | 24 |
| certified prepaid calling service provider changes its | 25 |
| toll-free customer service number, it is the duty of the | 26 |
| certified prepaid calling service provider to provide the | 27 |
| Commission with notice of the change and with the provider's | 28 |
| new toll-free customer service number at least 24 hours prior | 29 |
| to changing its toll-free customer service number. The | 30 |
| Commission may adopt rules that further define the | 31 |
| administration of this subsection.
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| (d) Any and all enforcement authority granted to the | 33 |
| Commission under this Article over any Certificate of Service | 34 |
| Authority shall apply equally and without limitation to | 35 |
| Certificates of Prepaid Calling Service Provider Authority. |
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| (220 ILCS 5/13-404.2 new) | 2 |
| Sec. 13-404.2. Prepaid calling service standards. The | 3 |
| Commission, by rule, may establish and implement minimum | 4 |
| service quality standards for prepaid calling service. The | 5 |
| rules may include, but are not limited to, requiring access to | 6 |
| a live customer service attendant through the customer service | 7 |
| number, reporting requirements, fines, penalties, customer | 8 |
| credits, remedies, and other enforcement mechanisms to ensure | 9 |
| compliance with the service quality standards. | 10 |
| Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business | 11 |
| Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2QQ as follows: | 12 |
| (815 ILCS 505/2QQ new) | 13 |
| Sec. 2QQ. Prepaid calling service. | 14 |
| (a) For purposes of this Section 2QQ, the terms "Prepaid | 15 |
| Calling Service", "Prepaid Calling Service Provider", "Prepaid | 16 |
| Calling Service Retailer", and "Prepaid Calling Service | 17 |
| Reseller" shall have the same definitions as those in Sections | 18 |
| 13-230, 13-231, 13-232, and 13-233, respectively, of the Public | 19 |
| Utilities Act. | 20 |
| For the purposes of this Section, "international preferred | 21 |
| destination" means a prepaid calling service that advertises a | 22 |
| specific international destination either on the card, the | 23 |
| packaging material accompanying the card, or through an | 24 |
| offering of sale of the service.
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| (b) On and after July 1, 2005, it is an unlawful practice | 26 |
| under this Act for any prepaid calling service provider or | 27 |
| prepaid calling service reseller to sell or offer to sell | 28 |
| prepaid calling service to any prepaid calling service retailer | 29 |
| unless the prepaid calling service provider has applied for and | 30 |
| received a Certificate of Prepaid Calling Service Provider | 31 |
| Authority from the Illinois Commerce Commission pursuant to the | 32 |
| Public Utilities Act and the prepaid calling service provider | 33 |
| or prepaid calling service reseller shows proof of the prepaid | 34 |
| calling service provider's Certificate of Prepaid Calling |
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| Service Provider Authority to the prepaid calling service | 2 |
| retailer. | 3 |
| (c) On and after July 1, 2005, it is an unlawful practice | 4 |
| under this Act for any prepaid calling service retailer to sell | 5 |
| or offer to sell prepaid calling service to any consumer unless | 6 |
| the prepaid calling service retailer retains proof of | 7 |
| certification of the prepaid calling service provider by the | 8 |
| Illinois Commerce Commission pursuant to the Public Utilities | 9 |
| Act. The prepaid calling service retailer must retain proof of | 10 |
| certification for one year or the duration of the contract with | 11 |
| the reseller, whichever is longer. A prepaid calling service | 12 |
| retailer with multiple locations selling prepaid calling cards | 13 |
| under contract with a prepaid calling service provider may keep | 14 |
| the certification at a central location provided, however, that | 15 |
| the prepaid calling service retailer make a copy of the | 16 |
| certification available upon reasonable request within 48 | 17 |
| hours. | 18 |
| (d) On and after July 1, 2005, no prepaid calling service | 19 |
| provider or prepaid calling service reseller shall sell or | 20 |
| offer to sell prepaid calling service, as those terms are | 21 |
| defined in Article XIII of the Public Utilities Act, to any | 22 |
| Illinois consumer, either directly or through a prepaid calling | 23 |
| service retailer, unless the following disclosures are made | 24 |
| clearly and conspicuously: | 25 |
| (1) At a minimum, the following terms and conditions | 26 |
| shall be disclosed clearly and conspicuously on the prepaid | 27 |
| calling card, if applicable: | 28 |
| (A) the full name of the Prepaid Calling Service | 29 |
| Provider as certificated by the Illinois Commerce | 30 |
| Commission; | 31 |
| (B) the toll-free customer service number; | 32 |
| (C) an access number that is toll-free or a number | 33 |
| local to the prepaid calling retailer; and | 34 |
| (D) the refund policy or a statement that the | 35 |
| refund policy is located on the packaging materials. | 36 |
| (2) At a minimum, all the material terms and conditions |
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| pertaining to the specific prepaid calling card shall be | 2 |
| disclosed clearly and conspicuously on the packaging | 3 |
| materials accompanying the prepaid calling card including, | 4 |
| but not limited to, the following, if applicable: | 5 |
| (A) the value of the card in minutes or the | 6 |
| domestic rate per minute of the card; | 7 |
| (B) all surcharges and fees applicable to the use | 8 |
| of the domestic prepaid calling service; | 9 |
| (C) all applicable rates for international | 10 |
| preferred destinations; | 11 |
| (D) all applicable surcharges and fees for | 12 |
| international preferred destinations;
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| (E) a disclosure statement indicating that all | 14 |
| rates, surcharges, and fees applicable to | 15 |
| international calls are available through the | 16 |
| toll-free customer service number and a statement | 17 |
| disclosing if international rates vary from domestic | 18 |
| rates; and
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| (F) the expiration policy.
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| (3) At a minimum, the following information shall be | 21 |
| disclosed clearly and conspicuously and accurately through | 22 |
| the toll-free customer service telephone number through | 23 |
| which the customer is able to speak with a live customer | 24 |
| service representative: | 25 |
| (A) the Illinois Commerce Commission certificate | 26 |
| number of the Prepaid Calling Service Provider; | 27 |
| (B) all applicable rates, terms, surcharges, and | 28 |
| fees for domestic and international calls; | 29 |
| (C) all information necessary to determine the | 30 |
| cost of a given call;
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| (D) the balance of use in the consumer's account; | 32 |
| and | 33 |
| (E) the applicable expiration date or period. | 34 |
| The disclosures required under this subsection (d) do not | 35 |
| apply to the recharging of dollars or minutes to a previously | 36 |
| purchased card allowing prepaid calling service.
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