[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2825 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2825

 To require cell phone early termination fees to be pro-rated over the 
        term of a subscriber's contract, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 3, 2009

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Webb, and Mr. Begich) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require cell phone early termination fees to be pro-rated over the 
        term of a subscriber's contract, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Cell Phone Early Termination Fee, 
Transparency, and Fairness Act'' or the ``Cell Phone ETF Act''.

SEC. 2. PRO-RATED EARLY TERMINATION FEES FOR CELL PHONES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
promulgate regulations requiring, at a minimum, that providers of 
commercial mobile service (as defined in section 332(d)(1) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)(1))--
            (1) prorate any early termination fee over the term of a 
        subscriber's contract; and
            (2) link the fee to the cost to the provider of the handset 
        device provided to the subscriber, reduced by the price paid by 
        the subscriber for the handset device at the start of a 
        subscriber's contract.
    (b) Rate of Reduction and Other Considerations.--In promulgating 
the regulations required by subsection (a), the Commission--
            (1) shall prohibit an early termination fee that exceeds 
        the cost to the provider of the handset device provided to the 
        subscriber, reduced by the price paid by the subscriber for the 
        handset device at the start of a subscriber's contract;
            (2) shall require a ratable reduction of the early 
        termination fee over the term of the contract;
            (3) shall require clear and conspicuous disclosure of the 
        early termination fee at the point of purchase and disclosure 
        on customers' monthly statements of account of the prorated 
        early termination fee that would be due if the contract were 
        terminated before the end of the next billing cycle;
            (4) shall consider, among other things, the effect of early 
        termination fees on competition and on the ability of consumers 
        to select and change providers of commercial mobile service; 
        and
            (5) shall consider the economic basis and business 
        rationale for the imposition of early termination fees by 
        providers of commercial mobile service.

SEC. 3. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt the laws of any 
State or local government regulating early termination fees chargeable 
to residents of that State or jurisdiction by commercial mobile service 
providers to which section 2 applies.
                                 <all>