[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 510 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 510
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for certain
requirements relating to charges for internet, television, and voice
services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 14, 2019
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Cardin, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Wyden, and Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for certain
requirements relating to charges for internet, television, and voice
services, 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 ``Truth-in-Billing, Remedies, and User
Empowerment over Fees Act of 2019'' or the ``TRUE Fees Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED SERVICES.
(a) In General.--Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 723. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED SERVICES.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Alternative dispute resolution.--The term
`alternative dispute resolution' has the meaning given the term
in section 3 of the Y2K Act (15 U.S.C. 6602).
``(2) Covered dispute.--The term `covered dispute' means a
dispute between a provider of a covered service and a consumer
in which the consumer alleges that--
``(A) the amount charged by the provider for or
relating to the provision of the covered service
(including any related taxes, administrative fees,
equipment rental fees, or other charges)--
``(i) was increased without notice being
provided to the consumer as required by
subsection (d)(1)(A)(i); or
``(ii) during the period covered by any
promotional rate or other discount that was
included in the price that the consumer agreed
to pay for or relating to the provision of the
covered service, did not reflect the
promotional rate or other discount; or
``(B) the provider billed the consumer--
``(i) for the provision of a service or for
any related taxes, administrative fees, or
other charges to which the consumer did not
subscribe during the period covered by the
bill; or
``(ii) for rental of equipment or for any
related taxes, administrative fees, or other
charges that the consumer did not rent during
the period covered by the bill.
``(3) Covered service.--The term `covered service'--
``(A) means--
``(i) internet access service;
``(ii) voice service, as defined in section
227(e)(8);
``(iii) commercial mobile service, as
defined in section 332(d);
``(iv) commercial mobile data service, as
defined in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C.
1401); and
``(v) service provided by a multichannel
video programming distributor, as defined in
section 602, to the extent the distributor is
acting as a multichannel video programming
distributor; and
``(B) includes any other service offered or
provided as part of a bundle or package with any
service referred to in subparagraph (A).
``(4) Internet access service.--The term `internet access
service'--
``(A) means a mass-market retail service by wire or
radio that provides the capability to transmit data to
and receive data from all or substantially all internet
endpoints, including any capabilities that are
incidental to and enable the operation of the
communications service; and
``(B) includes any service that--
``(i) the Commission finds to be providing
a functional equivalent of the service
described in subparagraph (A); or
``(ii) is used to evade the protections set
forth in this section.
``(b) Transparency in Advertising.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a
provider of a covered service may not advertise the price of
the covered service unless the advertised price is the total
amount that the provider will charge for or relating to the
provision of the covered service, including any related taxes,
administrative fees, equipment rental fees, or other charges,
to a consumer who accepts the offer made in the advertisement.
``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) does not require a provider
of a covered service to include in the advertised price of the
covered service any tax, fee, or other charge that--
``(A) the provider is required to charge under any
provision of Federal law or of the law of a State or
political subdivision of a State; and
``(B) is not uniform throughout the United States.
``(c) Transparency in e-billing.--A provider of a covered service
may not provide a bill to a consumer in an electronic format unless the
provider--
``(1) provides the bill, or a notification that the bill is
available, by email or a functional equivalent of email that
permits the consumer to view the bill or notification without
having to access an online account or the functional equivalent
of an online account or to take any similar additional steps;
and
``(2) includes in the bill or notification provided in
accordance with paragraph (1) an itemized statement that breaks
down the total amount charged for or relating to the provision
of the covered service by the amount charged for the provision
of the covered service itself and the amount of any related
taxes, administrative fees, equipment rental fees, or other
charges, in the same level of detail as would be provided in a
paper bill.
``(d) Requirements for Increases in Charges.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), in
the case of a provider of a covered service that enters into a
contract with a consumer for the provision of the covered
service--
``(A) if the provider increases the total amount
charged for or relating to the provision of the covered
service under the contract, regardless of the amount of
the increase or whether the increase is in the amount
charged for the provision of the covered service itself
or in any related taxes, administrative fees, equipment
rental fees, or other charges, the provider shall--
``(i) provide the consumer with clear
notice of the increase not later than 21 days
before the increase takes effect, in the same
manner in which the provider provides to the
consumer a notification that the consumer's
bill is available or, if no separate
notification is provided, in the same manner as
the provider provides the consumer's bill to
the consumer; and
``(ii) permit the consumer to terminate the
contract without paying any early termination
fee or other penalty; and
``(B) the provider may not increase any fee or
other charge for equipment rental unless the equipment
is upgraded, whether through a hardware or software
upgrade, so as to provide a substantial increase in
functionality.
``(2) Exception for additional or upgraded service
requested by consumer.--Paragraph (1)(A) does not apply with
respect to an increase resulting from the provision, at the
request of the consumer, of a service that is in addition to,
or an upgrade of, a service covered by the contract.
``(e) Prohibition on Compulsory Alternative Dispute Resolution.--
``(1) Prohibition on contractual provision.--A provider of
a covered service may not include in a contract with a consumer
for the provision of the covered service a provision that
requires the consumer to resolve a covered dispute with the
provider through alternative dispute resolution.
``(2) Unenforceability of contractual provision.--Any
alternative dispute resolution provision included in a contract
in violation of paragraph (1) shall be void and
unenforceable.''.
(b) Transitional Rule Relating to Definition of Voice Service.--
Subsection (e)(3)(A)(ii) of section 723 of the Communications Act of
1934, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply before
the effective date of the amendment made to subsection (e)(8) of
section 227 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 227) by section 503(a)(2)(C) of
division P of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law
115-141) as if such amendment was already in effect.
(c) Effective Date.--Section 723 of the Communications Act of 1934,
as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply beginning on
the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
except that subsections (d) and (e) of such section 723 shall not apply
with respect to a contract entered into, and as in effect, before the
date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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