H. B. 2775
(By Delegate Riggs, By Request)
[Introduced March 30, 1993; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-four-d, relating to crimes and their punishment;
advertisements and required preamble message for telephone
information services; one-time adjustment; definitions; and
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-four-d, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-24d. Advertisements and required preamble message for
telephone information services; telecommunications
corporation compensation; definitions; penalties.
(a) An information access telephone service provider shallnot provide or sponsor an advertisement, publication or other
communication regarding information access telephone service that
does not clearly and conspicuously display the price for each
call or for each minute of the call or provide or sponsor a
television or radio advertisement that does not include a clearly
audible voice announcement of the price for each call or for each
minute of the call.
(b) Information access telephone service providers shall
begin each information access telephone service call with a clear
statement, without charge, of whether the call is billed on a per
minute or a per call basis and the price for the call or for each
minute of the call.
(c) Information access telephone service providers shall
compensate any telecommunications corporation transporting the
provider's service for all charges associated with blocking
information access telephone services, and shall make
arrangements with the telecommunications corporation for a one
time adjustment per residential customer account for an
information access telephone service charge if the adjustments
involve calls made by minors without authorization or involve
claims of fraud, theft or misrepresentation. An adjustment
pursuant to this subsection, except for billing and transport
charges, shall be charged to the information access telephone
service provider who shall not attempt private collection of any
adjustments to customers' accounts made by a telecommunications
corporation.
(d) An information access telephone service provider shall
not provide an information access telephone service which
describes or depicts, directly or indirectly, sexual conduct or
activity or which contains sexually suggestive content unless
access to such service is restricted to persons eighteen years of
age or older and requires that the service is provided by
subscription through the information access telephone service
provider.
(e) An information access telephone service provider shall
not provide recorded announcements or live programs which forward
or refer callers to telephone numbers which are not 976 service
or 676 service for the purpose of the type of services provided
by 976 service or 676 service.
(f) In this section:
(1) "Adjustment" means a waiver of all unpaid charges
incurred by the residential customer for information access
telephone services up to the time the customer contacts the
telecommunications corporation and requests the adjustment.
(2) "Information access telephone service" means telephone
service and facilities which provide access to a provider-
sponsored prerecorded or live announcement or program and which
is commonly referred to as "976 service" or "676 service."
(3) "Provider" means a person, partnership, corporation or
organization that contracts with a telecommunications corporation
to transport telephone calls, bill customers or collect charges
for a prerecorded or live announcement or program.
(g) A person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than
one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not
more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to control sexually
oriented phone calls and to establish criminal penalties for
violations.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.