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*hb1562*
HOUSE BILL 1562
I3 6lr2917
By: Delegate Wu
Introduced and read first time: February 13, 2026
Assigned to: Environment and Transportation
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Consumer Protection – Telecommunications Service Outage – Automatic Credit 2
(Automatic Telecommunications Service Outage Credit Act) 3
FOR the purpose of requiring a commercial telecom munications service provider to 4
automatically provide a service disruption credit to the account of a customer 5
impacted by a material service outage; establishing the minimum amount of the 6
credit for the service outage; establishing that a violation of this Act is an unfair, 7
abusive, or deceptive trade practice subject to enforcement and penalty provisions 8
under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and generally relating to consumer 9
protection and telecommunications services. 10
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 11
Article – Commercial Law 12
Section 13–301(14)(xlvii) 13
Annotated Code of Maryland 14
(2025 Replacement Volume) 15
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 16
Article – Commercial Law 17
Section 13–301(14)(xlviii) 18
Annotated Code of Maryland 19
(2025 Replacement Volume) 20
BY adding to 21
Article – Commercial Law 22
Section 13–301(14)(xlix); and 14–5101 through 14–5105 to be under the new subtitle 23
“Subtitle 51. Automatic Telecommunications Service Outage Credit Act” 24
Annotated Code of Maryland 25
(2025 Replacement Volume) 26
2 HOUSE BILL 1562
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2
Article – Commercial Law 3
13–301. 4
Unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices include any: 5
(14) Violation of a provision of: 6
(xlvii) Title 14, Subtitle 50 of this article; [or] 7
(xlviii) Section 13–411.1(c)(2) of the Transportation Article; or 8
(XLIX) TITLE 14, SUBTITLE 51 OF THIS ARTICLE; OR 9
SUBTITLE 51. AUTOMATIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE OUTAGE CREDIT 10
ACT. 11
14–5101. 12
(A) IN THIS SUBTITLE THE FO LLOWING WORDS HAVE T HE MEANINGS 13
INDICATED. 14
(B) “COMMERCIAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER” MEANS A 15
PERSON WHO IS A PROVIDER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, AS DEFINED IN 16
47 U.S.C. § 153, TO RETAIL CONSUMERS IN THE STATE. 17
(C) “MATERIAL SERVICE OUTA GE” MEANS A DISRUPTION O R 18
UNAVAILABILITY OF A COMMERCIAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER’S 19
WIRELESS VOICE, TEXT, OR DATA SERVICE THAT: 20
(1) LASTS AT LEAST 3 CONSECUTIVE HOURS; AND 21
(2) AFFECTS A CUSTOMER’S ABILITY TO ACCESS WIRELESS SERVICE 22
AT THE CUSTOMER ’S PRIMARY SERVICE LO CATION OR WITHIN THE PROVIDER’S 23
COVERED SERVICE AREA. 24
(D) “SERVICE DISRUPTION CR EDIT” MEANS A BILLING ADJU STMENT OR 25
CREDIT APPLIED TO A CUSTOMER ’S ACCOUNT TO COMPENS ATE FOR A MATERIAL 26
SERVICE OUTAGE. 27
14–5102. 28
HOUSE BILL 1562 3
(A) A COMMERCIAL TELECOM MUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER THA T 1
EXPERIENCES A MATERI AL SERVICE OUTAGE SH ALL AUTOMATICALLY AP PLY A 2
SERVICE DISRUPTION CREDIT TO THE ACCOUNT OF EACH CUSTOMER AFFECTED BY 3
THE MATERIAL SERVICE OUTAGE. 4
(B) THE SERVICE DISRUPTIO N CREDIT REQUIRED UNDER THIS SECTION 5
SHALL BE APPLIED: 6
(1) WITHOUT REQUIRING ANY CUSTOMER ACTION; AND 7
(2) TO THE CUSTOMER ’S NEXT BILLING STATE MENT OR , IF NOT 8
PRACTICABLE, NOT LATER THAN THE SECON D BILLING CYCLE IMMEDIATELY 9
FOLLOWING RESTORATION OF SERVICE. 10
(C) THE MINIMUM SERVICE D ISRUPTION CREDIT REQUIRED UNDER THIS 11
SECTION FOR EACH MATERIAL SE RVICE OUTAGE SHALL BE NO T LESS THAN A 12
PRORATED AMOUNT THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO 1 FULL DAY OF THE CUST OMER’S 13
RECURRING MONTHLY SERVICE CHARGE. 14
(D) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION MAY BE CONSTRUED TO: 15
(1) REGULATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE RATES OR PRI CING 16
STRUCTURES; OR 17
(2) PREVENT A COMMERCIAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE 18
PROVIDER FROM PROVID ING A SERVICE DISRUP TION CREDIT THAT IS GREATER 19
THAN THE AMOUNT REQUIRED UNDER SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION. 20
14–5103. 21
(A) A COMMERCIAL TELECOM MUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDER SHA LL 22
PROVIDE REASONABLE NOTICE TO AFFECTED CUSTOMERS OF: 23
(1) THE OCCURRENCE OF A MATERIAL SERVICE OUTAGE; 24
(2) THE ESTIMATED DURATION OF THE OUTAGE, IF KNOWN; AND 25
(3) THE AUTOMATIC APPLICA TION OF A SERVICE DISRUPTION 26
CREDIT. 27
(B) THE NOTICE REQUIRED UNDER SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION MAY 28
BE PROVIDED BY TEXT MESSAGE, BY E–MAIL, THROUGH AN APPLICATION ON A 29
4 HOUSE BILL 1562
MOBILE D EVICE, OR BY POSTING ON THE COMMERCIAL TELECOM MUNICATIONS 1
SERVICE PROVIDER’S PUBLIC WEBSITE. 2
14–5104. 3
A VIOLATION OF THIS SUBTITLE IS: 4
(1) AN UNFAIR , ABUSIVE, OR DECEPTIVE TRADE P RACTICE WITHIN 5
THE MEANING OF TITLE 13 OF THIS ARTICLE; AND 6
(2) SUBJECT TO THE ENFORC EMENT AND PENALTY PR OVISIONS 7
CONTAINED IN TITLE 13 OF THIS ARTICLE. 8
14–5105. 9
THIS SUBTITLE MAY BE CITED AS THE AUTOMATIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS 10
SERVICE OUTAGE CREDIT ACT. 11
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 12
October 1, 2026. 13