Section 2884 Of Article 2. Customer And Subscriber Services From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 10. >> Article 2.
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. (a) The commission shall, pursuant to its existing authority,
by rule or order, establish procedures governing telephone
corporation billing practices and operations to require every
telephone corporation, on and after July 1, 1986, or on and after
another date or dates which the commission finds and determines to be
appropriate and feasible with respect to the capability of
particular telephone equipment, to offer residential subscribers the
option of deleting access to a class of information-access telephone
service, commonly referred to as "900 or 976 service," whereby
recorded commercial, informational, or public service messages,
interactive computer programs, and other services, are provided for a
charge, in addition to the basic local exchange charge, to the
person calling, and to notify new residential subscribers of the
options available to delete information-access services through
telephone service.
The commission shall specify a method or methods for telephone
corporations to institute this deletion of access option for
residential subscribers, taking into consideration the operational
requirements of the various types of telephone equipment in use
throughout the state. The commission shall impose no charge on
residential telephone subscribers for this deletion of access option,
and shall require telephone corporations to refund to subscribers
any amounts paid prior to the effective date of the amendments to
this section enacted in 1988 for deletion of access. The commission
shall determine and implement a method by which telephone
corporations shall be recompensed for the expenses of providing this
deletion of access option.
(b) The commission shall require every telephone corporation which
furnishes information-access telephone service to make available a
separate, easily distinguishable telephone prefix number for
information providers which provide messages which constitute harmful
matter and for those who provide other than messages which
constitute harmful matter, and to request every information provider
to designate which prefix corresponds to the type of messages it
proposes to provide. Any information provider which provides any live
or recorded message constituting harmful matter through any
information-access telephone number other than one within the prefix
assigned to information providers furnishing messages constituting
harmful matter is in violation of Section 2111. The commission shall
require the telephone corporation to offer residential subscribers
the option of deleting access to the telephone prefix number by which
messages constituting harmful matter are accessed, pursuant to
subdivision (a), and shall determine and implement a method by which
a telephone corporation shall be recompensed for the expenses of
providing this deletion of access option to residential subscribers.
(c) As used in this section, "harmful matter" means harmful matter
as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 313 of the Penal Code.
(d) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to
any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of the section which can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end the provisions of this section are severable.