[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2601 Engrossed in House (EH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2601
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To extend the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to collect fees
to administer and enforce the provisions relating to the ``Do-not-
call'' registry of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension
Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FEES FOR ACCESS TO REGISTRY.
Section 2, of the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act (15 U.S.C. 6101
note) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 2. TELEMARKETING SALES RULE; DO-NOT-CALL REGISTRY FEES.
``(a) In General.--The Federal Trade Commission shall assess and
collect an annual fee pursuant to this section in order to implement
and enforce the `do-not-call' registry as provided for in section
310.4(b)(1)(iii) of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, or any other
regulation issued by the Commission under section 3 of the
Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C.
6102).
``(b) Annual Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The Commission shall charge each person
who accesses the `do-not-call' registry an annual fee that is
equal to the lesser of--
``(A) $54 for each area code of data accessed from
the registry; or
``(B) $14,850 for access to every area code of data
contained in the registry.
``(2) Exception.--The Commission shall not charge a fee to
any person--
``(A) for accessing the first 5 area codes of data;
or
``(B) for accessing area codes of data in the
registry if the person is permitted to access, but is
not required to access, the `do-not-call' registry
under section 310 of title 16, Code of Federal
Regulations, section 64.1200 of title 47, Code of
Federal Regulations, or any other Federal regulation or
law.
``(3) Duration of access.--
``(A) In general.--The Commission shall allow each
person who pays the annual fee described in paragraph
(1), each person excepted under paragraph (2) from
paying the annual fee, and each person excepted from
paying an annual fee under section 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B)
of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, to access the
area codes of data in the `do-not-call' registry for
which the person has paid during that person's annual
period.
``(B) Annual period.--In this paragraph, the term
`annual period' means the 12-month period beginning on
the first day of the month in which a person pays the
fee described in paragraph (1).
``(c) Additional Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The Commission shall charge a person
required to pay an annual fee under subsection (b) an
additional fee for each additional area code of data the person
wishes to access during that person's annual period.
``(2) Rates.--For each additional area code of data to be
accessed during the person's annual period, the Commission
shall charge--
``(A) $54 for access to such data if access to the
area code of data is first requested during the first 6
months of the person's annual period; or
``(B) $27 for access to such data if access to the
area code of data is first requested after the first 6
months of the person's annual period.
``(d) Adjustment of Fees.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Fiscal year 2009.--The dollar amount
described in subsection (b) or (c) is the amount to be
charged for fiscal year 2009.
``(B) Fiscal years after 2009.--For each fiscal
year beginning after fiscal year 2009, each dollar
amount in subsection (b)(1) and (c)(2) shall be
increased by an amount equal to--
``(i) the dollar amount in paragraph (b)(1)
or (c)(2), whichever is applicable, multiplied
by
``(ii) the percentage (if any) by which the
CPI for the most recently ended 12-month period
ending on June 30 exceeds the baseline CPI.
``(2) Rounding.--Any increase under subparagraph (B) shall
be rounded to the nearest dollar.
``(3) Changes less than 1 percent.--The Commission shall
not adjust the fees under this section if the change in the CPI
is less than 1 percent.
``(4) Publication.--Not later than September 1 of each year
the Commission shall publish in the Federal Register the
adjustments to the applicable fees, if any, made under this
subsection.
``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) CPI.--The term `CPI' means the average of the
monthly consumer price index (for all urban consumers
published by the Department of Labor).
``(B) Baseline cpi.--The term `baseline CPI' means
the CPI for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008.
``(e) Prohibition Against Fee Sharing.--No person may enter into or
participate in an arrangement (as such term is used in section 310.8(c)
of the Commission's regulations (16 CFR 310.8(c))) to share any fee
required by subsection (b) or (c), including any arrangement to divide
the costs to access the registry among various clients of a
telemarketer or service provider.
``(f) Handling of Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The commission shall deposit and credit
as offsetting collections any fee collected under this section
in the account `Federal Trade Commission--Salaries and
Expenses', and such sums shall remain available until expended.
``(2) Limitation.--No amount shall be collected as a fee
under this section for any fiscal year except to the extent
provided in advance by appropriations Acts.''.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
Section 4 of the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act (15 U.S.C. 6101
note) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) Biennial Reports.--Not later than December 31, 2009, and
biennially thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation
with the Federal Communications Commission, shall transmit a report to
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the
House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce that
includes--
``(1) the number of consumers who have placed their
telephone numbers on the registry;
``(2) the number of persons paying fees for access to the
registry and the amount of such fees;
``(3) the impact on the `do-not-call' registry of--
``(A) the 5-year reregistration requirement;
``(B) new telecommunications technology; and
``(C) number portability and abandoned telephone
numbers; and
``(4) the impact of the established business relationship
exception on businesses and consumers.
``(b) Additional Report.--Not later than December 31, 2009, the
Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the Federal
Communications Commission, shall transmit a report to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce that includes--
``(1) the effectiveness of do-not-call outreach and
enforcement efforts with regard to senior citizens and
immigrant communities;
``(2) the impact of the exceptions to the do-not-call
registry on businesses and consumers, including an analysis of
the effectiveness of the registry and consumer perceptions of
the registry's effectiveness; and
``(3) the impact of abandoned calls made by predictive
dialing devices on do-not-call enforcement.''.
SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.
The Federal Trade Commission may issue rules, in accordance with
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as necessary and
appropriate to carry out the amendments to the Do-Not-Call
Implementation Act (15 U.S.C. 6101 note) made by this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives December 11, 2007.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2601
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To extend the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to collect fees
to administer and enforce the provisions relating to the ``Do-not-
call'' registry of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.