HS HCS HB 228 -- UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL (Pearce)

This substitute requires the Attorney General to develop and
maintain a list of consumers who have registered their objection
to receiving unsolicited commercial e-mail.  Information
contained in the database can only be used to enforce this law
and is not considered public.  This database must be operational
by January 1, 2005.  Any entity who buys the database from the
Attorney General can distribute it to its employees or
independent contractors.  Unsolicited e-mail cannot be sent to
subscribers in the database after January 1, 2005.

Unsolicited commercial electronic mail is defined as a commercial
e-mail message sent without the consent of the recipient.
E-mails sent from a parent company or subsidiary of the primary
business are considered "unsolicited."  The definition excludes
the following kinds of e-mail from the definition:

(1)  E-mail sent in response to an inquiry from a subscriber who
has requested information and provided an e-mail address;

(2)  E-mail sent to a subscriber with whom the sender has had a
business relationship at some point during the last 12 months;

(3)  E-mail sent by licensed professionals or tradesmen
attempting to set an appointment for services related to their
trade or profession;

(4)  E-mail sent by banks, farm credit services, or credit
unions;

(5)  E-mail sent to a subscriber with whom the sender has a
personal relationship; and

(6)  E-mail forwarded to a third party without the knowledge of
the original sender.

Ongoing business relationships include e-mail in response to an
inquiry in which the subscriber has provided an e-mail address;
e-mail sent on the basis of an ongoing business relationship that
has not been terminated by the subscriber; or e-mail from a
separate legal entity with which the subscriber has an
established business relationship.

If the Attorney General determines that a particular web site
includes child pornography, he or she must notify the web site
operator of the site.  If the operator does not remove the
pornography from its servers promptly, the Attorney General may
seek a judicial order requiring its removal within 30 days.
Failure to do so is punishable as contempt of court and penalties
for promoting child pornography in the first and second degree
will apply.

E-mail service providers are not liable if they act as an
intermediary between the sender and the recipient of unsolicited
commercial e-mail or if they take actions to block the
transmission of unsolicited commercial e-mail and notify the
Attorney General of commercial e-mail they believe is in
violation of this law.

The Attorney General can initiate proceedings against violators
and impose injunctions and civil penalties of up to $5,000 for
each violation, but not more than $25,000 per day.  Violators are
also subject to penalties provided in merchandising practices
law.  There is a two-year statute of limitations.  State courts
can exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresidents.

Anyone who sends commercial e-mail to any consumer in Missouri
must identify themselves clearly at the beginning of the message.
Anyone sending unsolicited commercial e-mail must use the
characters "ADV:" at the beginning of the subject line.  Anyone
sending unsolicited commercial e-mail containing adult material
or messages which reference a web site containing adult material
must use the characters "XXX:" at the beginning of the subject
line.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Net Cost to Merchandising Practices
Revolving Fund of $0 in FY 2004, $256,931 to $556,931 in FY 2005,
and $216,092 to $516,092 in FY 2006.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:11 am