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House
File
2448
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2448
BY
THOMSON
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
requirements
for
business
entities’
1
telephone
communications
with
consumers
in
this
state.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
554J.1
Business
entities’
telephone
1
communications.
2
1.
As
used
in
this
section,
unless
the
context
otherwise
3
requires:
4
a.
(1)
“Business
entity”
means
a
domestic
or
foreign
sole
5
proprietorship,
corporation,
association,
partnership,
limited
6
liability
company,
limited
liability
partnership,
or
other
7
similar
form
of
business
organization
or
legal
entity
that
is
8
regulated
by
state
law
and
that
meets
all
of
the
following
9
requirements:
10
(a)
The
entity
conducts
business
with
consumers
in
the
11
state.
12
(b)
The
entity’s
annual
gross
revenue
in
the
state
exceeds
13
thirty
million
dollars
per
calendar
year.
14
(2)
“Business
entity”
does
not
include
a
domestic
or
foreign
15
sole
proprietorship,
corporation,
association,
partnership,
16
limited
liability
company,
limited
liability
partnership,
or
17
other
business
organization
or
legal
entity
that
is
regulated
18
by
federal
law.
19
b.
“Conducts
business”
means
the
sale
of
goods
or
services,
20
subscriptions,
leases,
rentals,
or
warranties
by
a
business
21
entity,
financing
arrangements
tied
to
consumer
products,
or
22
any
other
transactional
relationship
between
a
business
entity
23
and
a
consumer
in
the
state.
24
c.
“Director”
means
the
director
of
the
department
of
25
insurance
and
financial
services.
26
d.
“Representative”
means
an
individual
human
being
that
27
is
an
agent
of,
and
that
is
authorized
by,
a
business
entity
28
to
speak
on
the
business
entity’s
behalf,
and
who
can
verbally
29
communicate
in
English.
30
2.
a.
Except
as
otherwise
provided
by
federal
law,
a
31
business
entity
shall
maintain
a
minimum
of
one
publicly
32
accessible
telephone
number
that
is
available
to
consumers
33
in
the
state
to
contact
the
business
entity
for
the
purpose
34
of
consumer
inquiries
related
to
billing,
accounts,
service
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issues,
transactions,
or
questions
reasonably
related
to
the
1
business
entity’s
regularly
conducted
business.
2
b.
A
representative
shall
be
available
during
a
business
3
entity’s
publicly
posted
customer
service
hours
to
communicate
4
with
consumers
in
the
state
using
the
telephone
number
under
5
paragraph
“a”
.
6
3.
a.
A
business
entity
may
use
an
automated
response
7
system
except
that
an
automated
response
system
shall
not
8
require
more
than
three
menu
prompts
before
providing
the
9
option
to
route
the
call
directly
to
a
representative.
An
10
automated
response
system
shall
not
include
infinite
loops,
11
circular
phone
trees,
or
any
other
system
designed
to
prevent
12
or
delay
connection
to
a
representative.
13
b.
A
business
entity
shall
not
engage
in
a
call-routing
14
practice
that
intentionally
delays
connecting
a
consumer
to
15
a
representative,
repeatedly
disconnects
a
consumer
call,
16
recycles
a
consumer
through
a
menu,
or
otherwise
substantially
17
impedes
a
consumer’s
access
to
a
representative.
A
business
18
entity
shall
ensure
that
a
consumer
that
selects
an
option
to
19
speak
to
a
representative
is
connected
to
a
representative
20
within
two
minutes
after
selecting
such
option.
21
4.
a.
A
business
entity
that
violates
this
section
shall
22
be
subject
to
civil
penalties
in
an
amount
set
by
the
director
23
by
rule.
24
b.
The
attorney
general
may
bring
an
action
in
a
district
25
court
to
enjoin
a
violation
of
this
section.
26
c.
A
consumer
injured
by
a
violation
of
this
section
may
27
bring
an
action
in
district
court
to
recover
damages
including
28
actual
damages,
statutory
damages
in
an
amount
no
less
than
29
five
hundred
dollars
per
violation,
and
reasonable
attorney
30
fees
and
court
costs.
31
d.
A
plaintiff
in
a
class
action
against
a
business
entity
32
for
violation
of
this
section
may
only
recover
actual
damages
33
and
reasonable
attorney
fees.
34
e.
Prior
to
the
assessment
of
a
civil
penalty
or
the
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initiation
of
a
civil
action,
a
business
entity
shall
be
1
permitted
a
reasonable
amount
of
time
to
demonstrate
compliance
2
with
this
section
through
documented
staffing
plans,
call
3
center
metrics,
and
call
center
recordings.
4
5.
This
section
shall
not
apply
to
a
business
entity
for
5
which
federal
laws
or
rules
preempt
state
laws
and
rules
6
governing
customer
service
operations,
including
but
not
7
limited
to:
8
a.
National
banks,
federal
savings
associations,
credit
9
unions,
or
other
business
entities
regulated
by
the
office
of
10
the
comptroller
of
the
currency
of
the
United
States
department
11
of
treasury
or
the
national
credit
union
administration.
12
b.
Interstate
telecommunications
carriers
regulated
by
the
13
federal
communications
commission
or
subject
to
the
federal
14
Communications
Act
of
1934,
47
U.S.C.
§151
et
seq.
15
c.
Airline
carriers
regulated
by
the
federal
Airline
16
Deregulation
Act
of
1978,
Pub.
L.
No.
95-504.
17
d.
Motor
carriers,
freight
brokers,
and
logistics
companions
18
regulated
by
the
federal
Aviation
Administration
Authorization
19
Act
of
1994,
Pub.
L.
No.
103-305.
20
6.
The
director
shall
adopt
rules
pursuant
to
chapter
17A
to
21
administer
and
enforce
this
section,
including
but
not
limited
22
to
rules
providing
for:
23
a.
The
frequency
and
manner
by
which
the
director
will
test
24
and
verify
a
business
entity’s
compliance
with
this
section.
25
b.
The
procedures
for
a
consumer
to
file
a
complaint
26
regarding
a
violation
of
this
section
with
the
attorney
27
general.
28
c.
The
civil
penalties
imposed
pursuant
to
subsection
4,
29
paragraph
“a”
.
30
EXPLANATION
31
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
32
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
33
This
bill
relates
to
the
requirements
for
business
entities’
34
telephone
communications
with
consumers
in
this
state.
35
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2448
Under
the
bill,
except
as
otherwise
provided
by
federal
1
law,
a
business
entity
(business)
shall
maintain
a
telephone
2
number
that
is
available
to
consumers
to
contact
the
business
3
regarding
inquiries
or
questions
reasonably
related
to
the
4
business’s
regularly
conducted
business.
A
business
shall
5
have
a
representative
available
during
customer
service
6
hours
to
communicate
with
consumers
using
the
business’s
7
telephone
number.
“Business
entity”,
“conduct
business”,
and
8
“representative”
are
defined
in
the
bill.
9
A
business
may
use
an
automated
response
system,
but
10
the
system
shall
not
require
more
than
three
menu
prompts
11
before
providing
the
option
to
route
the
call
directly
to
a
12
representative,
and
shall
not
include
infinite
loops,
circular
13
phone
trees,
or
any
other
system
designed
to
prevent
or
delay
14
connection
to
a
representative.
A
business
shall
not
engage
in
15
a
call-routing
practice
that
intentionally
delays
connecting
a
16
consumer
to
a
representative,
repeatedly
disconnects
a
call,
17
recycles
a
caller
through
a
menu,
or
otherwise
substantially
18
impedes
a
consumer’s
access
to
a
representative.
19
A
business
shall
ensure
that
a
consumer
that
selects
20
an
option
to
speak
to
a
representative
is
connected
to
a
21
representative
within
two
minutes.
22
A
business
that
violates
the
bill
shall
be
subject
to
civil
23
penalties
in
an
amount
set
by
the
director
of
the
department
24
of
insurance
and
financial
services
(director)
by
rule.
The
25
attorney
general
may
bring
an
action
in
a
district
court
to
26
enjoin
a
violation
of
the
bill.
A
consumer
injured
by
a
27
violation
may
bring
an
action
for
damages
including
actual
28
damages,
statutory
damages
in
an
amount
no
less
than
$500
per
29
violation,
and
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
court
costs.
A
30
plaintiff
in
a
class
action
against
a
business
may
only
recover
31
actual
damages
and
reasonable
attorney
fees.
Prior
to
the
32
assessment
of
a
civil
penalty
or
the
initiation
of
an
action,
33
a
business
shall
be
permitted
a
reasonable
amount
of
time
to
34
demonstrate
compliance
with
the
bill.
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The
bill
does
not
apply
to
a
business
for
which
federal
law
1
or
rule
expressly
or
impliedly
preempts
state
customer
service
2
operations.
3
The
director
shall
adopt
rules
to
administer
the
bill,
4
including
rules
providing
for
the
testing
and
verification
of
5
a
business’s
compliance
with
the
bill,
the
procedures
for
a
6
consumer
to
file
a
complaint
regarding
a
violation
of
the
bill,
7
and
the
amount
of
civil
penalties
imposed
on
a
business
for
8
violation
of
the
bill.
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