HCS HB 1632 -- THEFT OF TELEPHONE RECORDS

SPONSOR:  Rector (Cooper, 120)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Utilities
by a vote of 16 to 0.

This substitute creates the crime of knowingly receiving,
selling, or obtaining land-line or cellular telephone records
without a customer's consent.  Exemptions include the Department
of Corrections, state agencies with authority to regulate
telecommunications, law enforcement officers performing their
official duties, lawful use of the records in order to provide
service, use of records pursuant to the Victims of Child Abuse
Act of 1990, and the emergency use of records to prevent death or
serious injury.

Customers and telecommunications companies can recover actual
damages, illicit profits, and punitive damages from persons who
violate these provisions.  There is a two-year statute of
limitation on the civil actions.

The substitute does not create any new cause of action against
telecommunications companies, but does require them to establish
reasonable procedures to guard against the theft of telephone
records.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2007, FY 2008, and
FY 2009.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill is necessary in order
to protect Missouri consumers and provide definite penalties for
the theft of customer information.

Testifying for the bill was Representative Cooper (120);
Cingular; Sprint Nextel; AT&T; T-Mobile USA; Verizon; and
Missouri Telecommunications Industry Association.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that the Office of the
Attorney General has prosecuted some theft of phone records as a
class D felony.

Others testifying on the bill was Office of the Attorney General.

Jason Glahn, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:44 am