South Carolina General Assembly
118th Session, 2009-2010

Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

S. 198

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators McConnell and Ford
Document Path: l:\s-jud\bills\mcconnell\jud0042.kw.docx

Introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2009
Introduced in the House on February 12, 2009
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Unfair trade practice

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/17/2008  Senate  Prefiled
  12/17/2008  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/13/2009  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-164
   1/13/2009  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-164
   1/23/2009  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: Campbell (ch), Cleary, 
                        Williams, Mulvaney, Nicholson
    2/4/2009  Senate  Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary SJ-5
   2/10/2009  Senate  Committee Amendment Adopted SJ-16
   2/10/2009  Senate  Read second time SJ-16
   2/11/2009          Scrivener's error corrected
   2/11/2009  Senate  Read third time and sent to House SJ-32
   2/12/2009  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-19
   2/12/2009  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-19

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/17/2008
2/4/2009
2/10/2009
2/11/2009

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ADOPTED

February 10, 2009

S. 198

Introduced by Senators McConnell and Ford

S. Printed 2/10/09--S.    [SEC 2/11/09 12:27 PM]

Read the first time January 13, 2009.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 39-5-37, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE USE OF A NAME TO MISREPRESENT THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF A BUSINESS AS AN UNLAWFUL TRADE PRACTICE, SO AS TO MAKE IT AN UNLAWFUL TRADE PRACTICE TO PUBLISH IN A TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE DATABASE OR A PRINT ADVERTISEMENT AN INTENTIONALLY MISLEADING REPRESENTATION OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE BUSINESS.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 39-5-37 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 438 of 1998, is amended to read:

"Section 39-5-37.    (A)    It shall be is an unlawful trade practice under pursuant to Section 39-5-20 to use an assumed or fictitious name in the conduct of a business to intentionally to misrepresent the geographic origin, ownership of manufacturing facilities, or location of such the business.

(B)(1)    It is an unlawful trade practice pursuant to Section 39-5-20 for a person, firm, or corporation that is in the business of supplying a service or a product intentionally to misrepresent the geographical location of the business in the listing of the business in a telephone directory or other directory assistance database. A person, firm, or corporation intentionally misrepresents the geographical location of the business pursuant to this item if the name of the business indicates that the business is located in a geographical area and all of the following apply:

(a)    the business is not located within the geographical area indicated;

(b)    the listing fails to identify the municipality and state of the actual geographical location of the business; and

(c)    a telephone call to the local telephone number listed in the directory or database routinely is forwarded or transferred to a location that is outside the calling area covered by the directory or database in which the number is listed.

(2)    It is an unlawful trade practice pursuant to Section 39-5-20 for a person, firm, or corporation that is in the business of supplying a service or a product intentionally to misrepresent the geographical location of the business in print advertisement. A person, firm, or corporation intentionally misrepresents the geographical location of the business pursuant to this item if a fictitious business name or an assumed business name is listed in print advertisement and all of the following apply:

(a)    the name misrepresents the geographic location of the supplier; and

(b)    a telephone call to the local telephone number routinely is forwarded or transferred to a location that is outside the calling area in which the number is listed.

(3)    A person, firm, or corporation that misrepresents the geographical location of the business pursuant to item (1) or (2) of this subsection is not in violation of this subsection if a conspicuous notice in the listing or in the print advertisement states the municipality and state in which the business is located and identifies the municipality and state as the location of the business.

(4)    A provider of telephone, telecommunications, or other communications services, a provider of a telephone directory or directory assistance service, and an officer, employee, or agent of any such provider shall not be liable pursuant to this subsection for publishing the advertisement or for listing a person or entity in its directory or directory assistance database unless the provider is the same person or entity as the person or entity that is the subject of the advertisement or listing."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect on January 1, 2010, and applies to any telephone directory, telephone assistance database, or print advertisement provided or published after that date.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on Monday, October 10, 2011 at 12:13 P.M.