(No ) (Approved December 27, 2011) AN ACT

Transcription

1 (H. B. 1956) (Conference) (No ) (Approved December 27, 2011) AN ACT To create a prepaid cellphone registry to be attached to the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico; empower the Board to adopt the pertinent regulations; fix penalties; and for other related purposes. STATEMENT OF MOTIVES A new trend has emerged in Puerto Rico whereby prepaid mobile telephone devices are used for extortion. It has become a common occurrence for the media to report on extortion schemes where certain individuals call the victims from prepaid phones and deceive them into believing they will kidnap or murder a family member unless ransom is paid. It has been revealed that many of these phone calls are made from the correctional facilities of the Island using illegally introduced phones. The problem arises from the fact that, because these mobile devices are prepaid, cellphone companies have no registered owner for these devices. This makes it impossible for authorities to trace the owner thereof in the event of an extortion scam. Certainly, many customers purchase this type of device to avoid contractual obligations with cellphone companies or simply because they can estimate the services they truly need.

2 Nonetheless, due to the widespread use of these devices for the commission of crimes, it is imperative to empower the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico to create a prepaid cellphone registry as a vehicle to ensure the protection and security of all Puerto Rico residents. The Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico, created by virtue of Act No , as amended, known as the Puerto Rico Telecommunications Act of 1996, is the government entity responsible for regulating telecommunications services in Puerto Rico. Acknowledging that the provision of telecommunications services within a competitive market is in the best public interest and that the Board is empowered to regulate service providers in a manner that is consistent with their market position and their influence on consumers, this Legislative Assembly deems it appropriate to impose the responsibility of implementing this Act on the Telecommunications Regulatory Board. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY F PUERTO RICO: Section 1.- Creation. A prepaid cellphone registry is hereby created attached to the Telecommunications Regulatory Board. Section 2.- Definitions. For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall have the meaning stated below: (a) Board - the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico, which is the agency responsible for regulating telecommunications services in Puerto Rico, as is established in Act No , as amended, known as the Puerto Rico Telecommunications Act of 1996.

3 (b) Telephone Company - any natural or juridical person that, whether partially or totally, directly or indirectly, possesses, controls, administers, operates, manages, supplies, or resells any telecommunications service in Puerto Rico. (c) Commercial Entity - any natural or juridical person, or business establishment such as a pharmacy, gas station, department store, supermarket, etc., that sells prepaid cellphones. (d) Owner any natural or juridical person that owns or controls a prepaid mobile telephone device. (e) Prepaid Mobile Telephone Device - any telephone or other device used for telephone communication or to share information through a cellular network to which a telephone number is assigned and is activated through a telephone service provider; it includes interchangeable Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) that serve to activate and connect the device to a network, when a telephone number is assigned thereto, whether they are purchased together with the device or separately. Section 3.- Powers and Authorities of the Board. For purposes of the prepaid cellphone registry to be created, and pursuant to Section II-6 of Act No , as amended, the Board shall have primary jurisdiction over any telecommunications service, every person rendering these services in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and every person with a direct or indirect interest in said services or companies. This shall include any commercial entity that sells prepaid cellphones. The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to implement this Act and to oversee faithful and full compliance therewith.

4 The information contained in the registry shall only be available to law enforcement agencies upon request while conducting a criminal investigation. The Board shall furnish the information free of charge and upon the filing of a complaint with the police, or the issue of an order by a court with jurisdiction in Puerto Rico. Section 4.- Rulemaking Authority. Within ninety (90) days as of the approval of this Act, the members of the Board shall adopt regulations as are necessary to establish, among other things, all the rules and standards needed to achieve the purposes of this Act. Said regulations shall be adopted pursuant to Act No. 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended, known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Uniform Procedures Act, and shall be filed with the Department of State immediately after its approval. Section 5.- Prepaid Cellphone Registry; Requirement to Register Phone Numbers with the Board. The Board shall be responsible for keeping and maintaining a registry of the telephone numbers of all prepaid mobile devices that are sold in Puerto Rico as established herein. The registry to be maintained in this agency shall include the name, and street and mailing address of the owner of the device, as well as an alternative telephone number, the device s telephone number, and the make, model, and serial number thereof. Any telephone company, natural or juridical person, or commercial entity that sells a prepaid mobile telephone device shall require a photo identification at the time of purchase, and register, with the Board, the name, and street and mailing addresses of the owner of the device, as well as an alternative telephone number, the device s telephone number, and the make, model, and serial number thereof.

5 Such registration shall be carried out within thirty (30) days after purchasing the device. The Board shall establish the procedures and forms necessary to fulfill this obligation. Said procedures and forms shall be included in the regulations adopted by the Board in accordance with this Act. Any telephone company that has sold prepaid cellphones before the effective date of this Act is hereby required to submit to the Board a list of all the telephone numbers of those units and any other information it has, or may have acquired in the ordinary course of business, as required for purposes of the registry created herein, within thirty (30) days as of the effectiveness of this Act. Persons who own prepaid mobile devices as of the approval of this Act shall have a term that shall not exceed sixty (60) days to register said devices with the Board. The Board is hereby empowered to extend said term up to sixty (60) additional days if it deems it necessary. Section 6.- Notice of Change of Address. Owners of prepaid mobile telephone devices shall be required to notify the Board of any change of address within thirty (30) days after the change. Section 7.- Notice of New Owner. Any natural or juridical person that purchases or receives, as a gift, a prepaid mobile telephone device that was previously registered with the Board by a former owner shall be required to notify the Board within thirty (30) days after acquiring said device. Section 8.- Penalties. Any telephone company, natural or juridical person, or commercial entity that violates the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of an administrative offense and shall be punished by a fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per each violation.

6 Section 9.- Special Fund. The moneys collected on account of the administrative fines imposed in accordance with this Act, or the regulations adopted thereunder, shall be deposited in a Special Telecommunications Regulatory Board Fund, without it being subject to the public policy established in Act No. 230 of July 23, 1974, as amended, known as the Puerto Rico Government Accounting Act. The money deposited in the Fund shall be transferred to the Board to be used to defray a portion of the operating, fiscal, and administrative expenses incurred in connection with the implementation of this Act. Section 10.- Severability Clause. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, clause, phrase, or part of this Act were held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a Court with competent jurisdiction, said holding shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this Act. The effect of such holding shall be limited to the section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, clause, phrase, or part of this Act thus held invalid or unconstitutional. Section 11.- Effectiveness. This Act shall take effect ninety (90) days after its approval.

7 CERTIFICATION I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No (H. B. 1956) (Conference) of the 2 nd Special Session of the 16 th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico: AN ACT to create a prepaid cellphone registry to be attached to the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico; empower the Board to adopt the pertinent regulations; fix penalties; and for other related purposes. has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on this 3 rd day of September, Juan Luis Martínez Martínez Acting Director