Q: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Telephone Consumer Slamming
Prevention Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. LONG DISTANCE SLAMMING PROHIBITION.

Section 258 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 258) is
amended--
(1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by inserting
''the requirements of this section and'' after ''in accordance
with''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
''(c) Verification Procedures Required With Respect to Subscriber
Selections of Interstate Carrier.--
''(1) Written carrier selections required.--No
telecommunications carrier shall submit or execute a change in
a subscriber's selection of a provider of interstate telephone
service unless the carrier to which the subscriber will be
changed (or such carrier's agent) has obtained from the
subscriber a written change authorization that--
''(A) clearly and simply describes the nature of
the subscription change;
''(B) is signed and dated by the subscriber;
''(C) is solicited in accordance with the
requirements of paragraph (2); and
''(D) is in a form (including typeface and language
used) that is prescribed or approved by the Commission.
''(2) Solicitation procedures.--A written change
authorization shall--
''(A) not (i) be a part of, or attached to, any
other document, (ii) be included together with any
billing for telephone service, (iii) contain any
promotional offer or inducement; or (iv) represent that
endorsement entitles the subscriber to any benefit
other than the change in carrier selection; and
''(B) be provided to the subscriber in duplicate,
and permit the subscriber to retain the duplicate.
''(d) Liability to Subscribers for Unauthorized Changes of
Interstate Telephone Service.--Any telecommunications carrier that
violates the requirements of subsection (c) shall be liable to the
subscriber in an amount equal to the sum of the following charges:
''(1) Switching fees.--Any fees imposed for changing the
subscriber's service to or from the unauthorized carrier.
''(2) Long distance charges.--Any charges for interstate
telephone service used by the subscriber during the period that
begins upon the occurrence of the unauthorized change in
service that constituted the violation and ends upon the
earlier of (A) the date that the service of the subscriber is
changed from the unauthorized carrier pursuant to a valid
change authorization under subsection (c), or (B) the expiration of the
6-month period beginning on the date of the unauthorized change in
service.
''(e) Administration of Slamming Complaint System.--
''(1) State option to administer.--
''(A) In general.--If a State has made a
certification under subparagraph (B) to the Commission
(and has not thereafter terminated the effectiveness of
such certification), the State commission for such
State shall administer a slamming complaint system for
subscribers of interstate telephone service in such
State that meets the requirements pursuant to
subsection (f).
''(B) Certification requirements.--A certification
under this subparagraph for a State is a certification
by the State commission for the State , submitted to
the Commission in the form and manner prescribed by the
Commission, that the State commission has established
and will maintain a slamming complaint system for the
State that meets the requirements pursuant to
subsection (f). A certification shall be effective for
purposes of this subsection upon submission to the
Commission, notwithstanding any review or approval by
the Commission. The Commission may prescribe the form
and manner for States to terminate the effectiveness of
such certifications.
''(2) Administration by commission.--The Commission shall,
for each State not described in paragraph (1)(A), maintain and
administer a slamming complaint system for subscribers of
interstate telephone service in such State that meets the
requirements pursuant to subsection (f).
''(f) Slamming Complaint System Requirements.--A slamming complaint
system for a State meets the requirements pursuant to this subsection
if the system--
''(1) makes available a procedure for any subscriber of
interstate telephone service in such State to register a
complaint that the subscriber's selection of a provider of such
service has been changed without the written authorization of
the subscriber required under subsection (c), and maintains a
record of such complaint;
''(2) with respect to each such complaint, provides for the
determination (in such manner as the Commission shall provide)
of whether a violation of the requirement under subsection (c)
occurred and of liability under subsection (d);
''(3) maintains a record of each determination of a
violation of the requirement under subsection (c) involving a
subscriber of interstate telephone service in the State,
including the telecommunications carrier to which interstate
telephone service was illegally changed;
''(4) on a monthly basis--
''(A) determines, for each telecommunications
carrier providing interstate telephone service within
the State, the number of such violations determined to
have occurred involving the illegal change of service
to such carrier; and
''(B) in the case only of a system administered by
a State commission pursuant to subsection (e)(1),
provides the information under subparagraph (A) to the
Commission; and
''(5) complies with any regulations as the Commission may
prescribe to carry out this subsection.
''(g) Notice to Subscribers of Availability of Slamming Complaint
System.--The Commission shall require each telecommunications carrier
providing interstate telephone service (or the billing agent for such
carrier) to include, in each subscriber's phone bill for such service,
a statement--
''(1) informing the subscriber that a complaint regarding
an unauthorized change in the subscriber's selection of a
provider of such service may be registered under the applicable
slamming complaint system for the State of the subscriber;
''(2) providing a phone number for contacting such slamming
complaint system; and
''(3) providing the location of the carrier's principal
office (including the street address, city, State or province
(or other region), country, and zip or postal code).
''(h) Performance Limits.--
''(1) Establishment by commission.--Not later than one year
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission
shall conduct a study of the number and rates of incidence of
changes in subscribers' selections of providers of interstate
telephone service occurring without the authorization of the
subscriber. Pursuant to the study, the Commission shall
establish performance limits that are the maximum acceptable
rates of unauthorized changes. The Commission may, from time to
time, review and adjust the performance limits established under this
paragraph.
''(2) Comparison of number of violations to performance
limits.--After the establishment of the performance limits
under paragraph (1), the Commission shall compare the
information for each month for each telecommunications carrier
providing interstate telephone service within each State that
is submitted by State commissions (pursuant to subsection
(f)(4)(B)) and collected by the Commission (pursuant to
subsection (f)(4)(A) for States to which subsection (e)(2)
applies) to the applicable performance limit established under
paragraph (1).
''(i) Forfeiture Penalty for Exceeding Performance Limit.--
''(1) In general.--If the Commission determines that, for
any month, for any single telecommunications carrier, the
number of violations of the requirements under subsection (c)
determined to have occurred which involve changing the
interstate telephone service of subscribers of interstate
telephone service in a State to such carrier exceeds the
applicable performance limit for such State established under
subsection (h)(1), such carrier shall be considered to have
willfully failed to comply with this Act and shall be liable to
the United States for a forfeiture penalty under section
503(b)(1)(B).
''(2) Considerations in determining amount of penalty.--In
taking into account the extent and gravity of a violation under
paragraph (1) for purposes of determining the amount of the
forfeiture penalty pursuant to section 503(b)(2)(D), the
Commission shall consider--
''(A) the number of violations of the requirements
of subsection (c) determined to have occurred in excess
of the number of violations necessary to exceed the
applicable performance limit; and
''(B) the ratio of the number of violations
determined to have occurred to the number of violations
necessary to exceed the applicable performance limit.
''(j) Effect on Other Law.--
''(1) Consumer protection laws.--Nothing in this section
shall relieve any telecommunications carrier, local exchange
carrier, or any other person from the obligation to comply with
any Federal, State, or local statute or regulation relating to
consumer protection or unfair trade.
''(2) State authority.--Nothing in this section shall
preclude any State from enacting and enforcing additional and
complementary oversight and regulatory systems or procedures,
or both, so long as such systems and procedures do not
significantly impede the enforcement of this section or other
Federal statutes.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION OF EXISTING SLAMMING LIABILITY PROVISION TO
INTRASTATE SERVICE.

Section 258(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 258(b))
is amended by striking ''described in subsection (a)'' and inserting
''prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) for changing a subscriber's
selection of a provider of intrastate telephone service'' after
''subsection (a)''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE AND REGULATIONS.

(a) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take
effect upon the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Regulations.--The Commission shall prescribe such regulations
as may be necessary to carry out the amendments made by this Act, which
shall include prescribing a standard form for written change
authorizations that meets the requirements of section 258(c) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (as added by section 2 of this Act) for use
for such purpose. Such final regulations shall be issued and shall take
effect not later than the effective date under subsection (a).
A:
Telephone Consumer Slamming Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit telecommunications carriers from submitting or executing a change in a subscriber's selection of an interstate telephone service provider unless the carrier to which the subscriber will be changed has obtained a written change authorization from the subscriber.
Makes carriers that violate such requirement liable for fees imposed for changing service to or from the unauthorized carrier and long distance charges incurred by the subscriber during a specified period of unauthorized service.
Sets forth conditions under which States may administer a slamming complaint system for subscribers of interstate telephone service. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to administer such systems for States that fail to do so. Requires such systems to: (1) make available procedures for registering and maintaining records of complaints by subscribers of unauthorized changes of service; (2) make determinations and maintain records of violations and liability; (3) determine, on a monthly basis, the number of violations involving illegal changes of service for each carrier and provide such information to the FCC; and (4) comply with FCC regulations.
Directs carriers providing interstate telephone service to include information on the slamming complaint system in phone bills.
Requires the FCC to establish performance limits that are the maximum acceptable rates of unauthorized service changes. Makes carriers that exceed such limits liable for forfeiture penalties.
Applies existing slamming liability provisions only to intrastate service changes.