ENROLLEDHCAHB853 4463 1611 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS Regular Session HOUSEAmendments BILLproposed NO.byHouse Committee on Commerce to Original House Bill No.

853 BYby REPRESENTATIVERepresentative MCMAKINMcMakin ANAMENDMENT ACTNO. To amend and reenact R.S.

51:391,1 relativeOn topage misleading1, solicitationsline by3, nongovernmentchange entities;"provides" to "provide" AMENDMENT NO.

to2 provideOn forpage what1, qualifiesline as5, aafter misleading"practice;" solicitation;insert "to provide for exceptions;" AMENDMENT NO.

3 On page 1, line 15, change "shall qualify as" to provide"qualifies foras disclosurea" requirements;AMENDMENT NO.

to4 provideOn forpage remedies2, andline penalties;16, change "requirements;" to "requirements:" AMENDMENT NO.

to5 provideOn forpage civil3, damages;line 17, change "shall" to "may" AMENDMENT NO.

to6 provideOn forpage an3, unfairline or19, deceptiveafter act"costs" orand practice;before the period .

toinsert provide"pursuant forto exceptions;R.S.

and51:1401 toet provideseq" forAMENDMENT relatedNO. matters.

Be7 itOn enactedpage by3, theline Legislature22, ofdelete Louisiana:''LA." AMENDMENT NO.

Section8 1.On page 3, after line 23, add the following:

R.S."F.

51:391 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:

§391.

Solicitations;

misleading governmental appearance prohibited;

misleading connections to the secretaryof state prohibited;

disclaimer;

penalty A.

A solicitation by a nongovernmental entity, for the purchase of or payment for a product or service, which is in the form of and reasonably could be interpreted or construed as a bill, invoice, or statement of account due, but constitutes, in fact, a solicitation for the order bythe addresseeof goods or services, or both, shall not contain any material which qualifies as a misleading solicitation if it meets any of the following criteria:

(1) Reasonably could be interpreted or construed as falsely implying any Louisiana local, state, or federal government connection, approval, or endorsement through the use of a seal, insignia, or name of a state government agency, department, commission, or program, or a citation to a state statute or federal law.

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853 ENROLLED (2) Contains any reference to or a citation to a state statute or federal code thatmisrepresentseithertheidentityofthemailerortheprotectionorstatusafforded such matter by the Louisiana state government any government entity.

(3) Reasonably could be construed by a business registered with the secretaryof state as implying anyconnection with the secretaryof state or requiring paymentoradditionalactiontoremainingoodstandingasabusinessregisteredwith the secretaryof state.

(4) Containsphrasessuchas"finalnotice","immediateresponserequested", "official notification", or anysimilar language, unlesstheindividual orentityhas an existing business relationship with the solicitee.

(5) Contains an offer for goods and services that results in a subscription service, automatic renewal, or continuous service that is not clearly and conspicuously disclosed within the communication to the consumer.

B.

In addition to the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, each If considered a misleading solicitation pursuant to Subsection A of this Section, the solicitation will be subject to the following requirements:

(1) Each solicitation shall bear on its face, at the beginning, in conspicuous and legible type which is not smaller than fourteen-point font and is in contrast by typography,layout,orcolorwithanyotherprintingonthesolicitation,thefollowing disclaimer:

"THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR THE ORDER OF GOODS OR SERVICES, OR BOTH, AND NOT A BILL, INVOICE, OR STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT DUE.

YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF THIS OFFER UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY ANY LOUISIANA STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCY, AND THIS OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE BY AN AGENCY OF THE LOUISIANA STATE GOVERNMENT." Page 2 of 4 CODING:

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853 ENROLLED (2) Each such solicitation shall bear, on the outer envelope, if one exists, in conspicuousandlegibletype,whichisnotsmallerthanfourteen-pointblackfont,the following disclaimer:

"THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY." (3) Each such solicitation that utilizes a subscription, automatic renewal, or continuousserviceshallincludethefollowingdisclaimerinconspicuousandlegible type which is not smaller than fourteen-point black font:

"THEPAYMENTORACCEPTANCEOFTHESEGOODSORSERVICES WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWALS FROM ASSOCIATED BANK ACCOUNTS OR PERIODIC BILLING." C.