Pennsylvania Act 2006-164 — FLORAL TRANSACTION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

Act text

FLORAL TRANSACTION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
                 Act of Nov. 29, 2006, P.L. 1469, No. 164             Cl. 12
                                  AN ACT

     Prohibiting a deceptive business practice in the floral
        industry; and providing for a private cause of action.

        The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
            (1)  Pennsylvania consumers have been the victims of a
        deceptive business practice within the floral industry that
        misleads or deceives them into believing that they were
        purchasing flowers directly from local florists.
            (2)  Unscrupulous floral businesses, physically located
        outside the local calling area of consumers, are utilizing
        local telephone listings and fictitious or assumed names to
        misrepresent the geographic location of their businesses.
            (3)  Unsuspecting consumers are placing floral orders
        with out-of-State floral shops or call centers and incurring
        additional charges for the transaction.
            (4)  The misrepresentation of the geographic location of
        a floral business not only misleads consumers but also
        financially harms local florists, who lose business, and the
        Commonwealth, which loses sales tax revenue.
            (5)  There exists a need for a law to prohibit the
        deceptive business practice of misrepresenting the geographic
        location of a floral business in an effort to protect both
        consumers and local florists.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

     Section 1.  Short title.
        This act shall be known and may be cited as the Floral
     Transaction and Consumer Protection Act.
     Section 2.  Definitions.
        The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
     have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
     context clearly indicates otherwise:
        "Directory assistance."  The disclosure of telephone number
     information in connection with an identified telephone service
     subscriber by means of a live operator or automated service.
        "Local telephone directory."  A listing of telephone numbers
     that is distributed by a telephone company or directory
     publisher to subscribers located in the local exchanges
     contained in the directory. The term shall also include
     directory assistance and electronic listings.
        "Local telephone number."  A telephone number with a local
     exchange used by the provider of telephone service for
     telephones physically located within the area covered by the
     local telephone directory in which the number is listed. The
     term does not include long distance numbers or 800-, 888- or
     900- exchange numbers listed in a local telephone directory.
        "Supplier."  A person that solicits telephone orders for
     floral arrangements whether or not the person deals directly
     with a consumer.
     Section 3.  Prohibited deceptive business practice.
        It shall be considered a deceptive business practice and
     unlawful for a supplier to misrepresent its geographic location
     by listing a fictitious or assumed business name in a local
     telephone directory if all of the following apply:
            (1)  The listing fails to identify the locality and state
        of the supplier's business.
            (2)  The calls to the local telephone number are
        routinely forwarded or otherwise transferred to a supplier's
        business location that is outside the calling area covered by
        the local telephone directory.
            (3)  The supplier's business location is located in a
        county that is not contiguous to a county in the calling area
        covered by the local telephone directory.
     Section 4.  Private cause of action.
        A person may petition a court to enjoin the conduct
     prohibited by section 3. The court may impose a civil fine of up
     to $500 per day until the supplier complies with the order to
     enjoin the prohibited conduct. The court may award reasonable
     attorney fees and costs to the person bringing the action if the
     court finds that the violation was willful.
     Section 5.  Applicability.
        (a)  Telephone listings.--The provisions of this act shall
     apply to telephone listings in a local telephone directory
     published or updated for the calling area at least 90 days after
     the effective date of this section.
        (b)  Media advertising.--The provisions of this act shall not
     apply to:
            (1)  an owner, or personnel of an owner, of any medium in
        which an advertisement appears or through which an
        advertisement is disseminated; or
            (2)  a publisher or distributor of a local telephone
        directory in which an advertisement or local telephone number
        appears or through which the advertisement or number is
        disseminated.
     Section 6.  Effective date.
        This act shall take effect immediately.