HB2002 SFA #1 Ihlenfeld 4-6

Toney  7816

Senator Ihlenfeld moved to amend the Government Organization committee amendment on pages thirteen and fourteen, section two, by striking out all of subdivision (9) and inserting in lieu thereof a new subdivision (9) to read as follows:

(9) Coordinate with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General to provide for the following consumer protections:

 (A) If a broadband service to a subscriber is interrupted for more than 24 continuous hours, such subscriber shall, upon request, receive a credit or refund from the broadband operator in an amount that represents the proportionate share of such service not received in a billing period, provided such interruption is not caused by the subscriber;

(B) A broadband operator may not deny service, deny access, or otherwise discriminate against subscribers, channel users, or any other citizens on the basis of age, race, religion, sex, physical handicap, political affiliation, political views, or exercise of other speech protected by the 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution, or country of natural origin;

(C) A broadband operator shall provide subscribers 30 days advance written notice of any changes to rates or charges, including the expiration of any promotion or special pricing that would result in an increase in the subscribers billing or cost of service;

(D) A broadband operator shall inform subscribers and provide written notice to subscribers that disputes regarding interrupted or substandard service or billing issues, which are unresolved to satisfaction of the subscriber;

(E)  Repeated and consistent interrupted or substandard service issues by a broadband operator constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice and the subscriber can recover actual damages, or, not less than $100 nor more than $500; and

(F) A broadband operator may not advertise or include as a contractual term the downstream data rate or upstream data rate in terms of the maximum anticipated data rate or as an “up to” speed. Any advertisement or contractual term by a broadband operator relating to downstream data rate or upstream data rate shall specify the minimum data rate to be provided as part of the service.  Violations of this paragraph or consistent and repeated substandard service constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice which may be investigated by the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General.

Adopted

Rejected