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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 25 TO CHAPTER 9, TITLE 58 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE "DO NOT CALL REGISTRY" AUTHORIZING THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH A DATABASE OF RESIDENTIAL TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERS WHO OBJECT TO RECEIVING CERTAIN TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS, TO DEFINE THE TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS SUBJECT TO THIS ARTICLE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATION OF THE DATABASE BY THE COMMISSION, TO PROVIDE FOR FEES TO BE CHARGED TO PERSONS OR ENTITIES ACCESSING THE DATABASE, TO PROVIDE THAT THE FEES ARE USED TO MAINTAIN THE DATABASE, TO PROVIDE ADMINISTRATIVE AND CIVIL PENALTIES FOR TELEPHONE SOLICITORS WHO VIOLATE THIS ARTICLE, TO PROVIDE A STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT TELEPHONE CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AND TELEPHONE COMPANIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ARTICLE'S ENFORCEMENT OR LIABLE FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE DATABASE; TO AMEND SECTION 30-4-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO MATTERS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, SO AS TO ADD THE DATABASE ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-17-445, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF UNSOLICITED CONSUMER TELEPHONE CALLS, SO AS TO REFERENCE THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ARTICLE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 9, Title 58 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 58-9-2710. This article may be cited as the 'South Carolina Do Not Call Registry Act of 2003'.
Section 58-9-2720. As used in this article:
(1) 'Caller identification service' means a type of telephone service which permits telephone subscribers to see the telephone number of incoming telephone calls.
(2) 'Commission' means the Public Service Commission.
(3) 'Residential subscriber' means a person who subscribes to residential telephone service from a local exchange company or competing local exchange company and includes other persons living or residing with him, and who uses the service primarily for residential purposes.
(4) 'Telephone solicitation' means a voice communication over
a telephone line by a live operator or through the use of an automatically dialed announcing device, ADAD, equipment as defined in Section 16-17-446 to a residential subscriber for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, but does not include communications made:
(a) in response to an express request of the residential subscriber;
(b) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, payment, or performance that has not been completed at the time of the call;
(c) by or on behalf of a person or entity with whom a residential subscriber has a previous or current business or personal relationship;
(d) by or on behalf of a charitable organization that has filed a registration statement pursuant to Chapter 56, Title 33 of the 1976 Code;
(e) by or on behalf of a financial services institution or entity defined in or required to comply with the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USCA1681, or the Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act, 113 Stat.1338;
(f) by or on behalf of a publisher of a news periodical published at least once a week; or
(g) in which the sale, lease, or other agreement for real property or real property services is not completed, and payment or authorization of payment is not required until after a face-to-face sales presentation or other meeting between the caller and the residential subscriber.
Section 58-9-2730. (A) The commission shall establish and operate a database that is a registry of telephone numbers of residential subscribers who object to receiving telephone solicitations. The commission shall have this database in operation no later than July 1, 2004. A local exchange carrier and competing local exchange carrier certified to operate in South Carolina shall provide information at least twice a year to a residential subscriber about the existence of and opportunity to subscribe to the No Call Database. The information must be disseminated once each year in the customer's bill and the second notification must be by television, radio, or newspaper advertisement, written correspondence, bill inserts or messages, publication in the consumer information pages of the local telephone directory, or other method not expressly prohibited by the commission and at the option of the carrier.
(B) No later than January 1, 2004, the commission shall promulgate regulations that:
(1) specify the methods by which each residential subscriber may give notice to the commission of the subscriber's objection to receiving the solicitations or the subscriber's revocation of the notice;
(2) specify the length of time for which a notice of objection is effective and the effect of a change of telephone number on the notice;
(3) specify the methods by which the objections and revocations are collected and added to the database;
(4) specify the methods by which a person or entity desiring to make telephone solicitations must obtain access to the database as required to avoid calling the telephone numbers of residential subscribers included in the database; and
(5) specify other matters relating to the database that the commission considers desirable.
(C) If the Federal Communications Commission establishes a single national database of telephone numbers of subscribers who object to receiving telephone solicitations, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 227(c)(3), the commission shall provide the database established by this article as this state's part of the national database.
(D) The commission shall charge a person or entity desiring to make telephone solicitations a fee of one hundred dollars payable to the commission each year for access to, or for paper or electronic copies of, the database established pursuant to this article.
(E) Fees collected by the commission must be credited to the general fund for the use of the commission in maintaining the database.
(F) Information contained in the database established pursuant to this article may be used only for the purpose of compliance with this article or in a proceeding or action brought pursuant to this article. The information in the database is not subject to public inspection or disclosure pursuant to Section 30-4-40.
Section 58-9-2740. A person or entity may not make or cause to be made a telephone solicitation to the telephone line of a residential subscriber in this State who has given notice to the commission of the subscriber's objection to receiving telephone solicitations and whose name appears in the database established pursuant to Section 58-9-2730.
Section 58-9-2750. (A) A person or entity who makes a telephone solicitation to the telephone line of a residential subscriber in this State shall state clearly at the beginning of the call the identity of the person or entity initiating the call.
(B) A person or entity who makes a telephone solicitation to the telephone line of a residential subscriber in this State may not knowingly utilize a method or device to block or otherwise circumvent the subscriber's use of a caller identification service.
Section 58-9-2760. (A) The commission may initiate proceedings related to a knowing violation or a threatened knowing violation of Sections 58-9-2740 or 58-9-2750. The proceedings include, without limitation, ones to:
(1) issue an injunction, temporary injunction, or temporary restraining order;
(2) issue an order imposing a civil penalty up to a maximum of two thousand dollars for each knowing violation; and
(3) seek additional relief in the circuit court.
(B) The actions must be brought in the name of the State. The commission may issue investigative demands, issue subpoenas, administer oaths, and conduct hearings in the course of investigating violations of Sections 58-9-2740 or 58-9-2750.
Section 58-9-2770. A person who receives more than one telephone solicitation within a twelve-month period by or on behalf of the same person or entity in violation of Sections 58-9-2740 or 58-9-2750 may bring:
(1) an action to enjoin the violation;
(2) an action to recover actual monetary loss from the knowing violation and attorney's fees or to receive up to two thousand dollars in damages for each knowing violation and attorney's fees, whichever is greater; or
(3) both actions.
Section 58-9-2780. It is a defense in any action or proceeding brought pursuant to this article that the defendant has established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures effectively to prevent telephone solicitations in violation of this article.
Section 58-9-2790. An action or a proceeding must not be brought pursuant to this article:
(1) more than two years after the person bringing the action knew or should have known of the occurrence of the alleged violation; or
(2) more than two years after the termination of any proceeding or action by the State, whichever is later.
Section 58-9-3000. A court of this State may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident or his personal representative or administrator in an action or proceeding authorized by this article.
Section 58-9-3010. The remedies, duties, prohibitions, and penalties of this article are not exclusive and are in addition to all other causes of action, remedies, and penalties provided by law.
Section 58-9-3020. (A) A provider of telephone caller identification service is not liable for violations of this article committed by other persons or entities.
(B) Telephone companies are not responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this article and are not liable for any error or omission in the database made pursuant to this article."
SECTION 2. Section 30-4-40(a) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 350 of 2002, is further amended by adding an undesignated item at the end to read:
"( ) The 'Do Not Call Registry' database established by Article 25, Chapter 9, Title 58."
SECTION 3. Section 16-17-445(E) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 408 of 2000, is further amended to read:
"(E) Every A telephone solicitor operating in this State who makes unsolicited consumer telephone calls shall implement in-house systems and procedures whereby in which every effort is made not to call subscribers who ask not to be called again. A telephone solicitor shall use the Do Not Call Registry established pursuant to Article 25, Chapter 9, Title 58. The department and the Public Service Commission may has the authority to monitor compliance with this provision these provisions. Every A person or his agent who has an interest in a vacation ownership plan or vacation timesharing plan may have the unit telephone number removed from a solicitor's in-house calling lists by sending written notification to the solicitor Public Service Commission."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2003.
This web page was last updated on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:03 A.M.