Announced Action for July 30, 2004

Approval of final consent order: Following the conclusion of a public comment period, the Commission has approved a final consent order in the matter concerning Clark County, Washington, Attorneys. The Commission vote to make the order final was 5-0. (FTC File No 031-0155; the staff contact is Joe Lipinsky, FTC Northwest Region, 206-220-4473; see press release dated June 14, 2004.)

Publication of final rule revising fees to access National Do Not Call Registry: The Commission has issued its final rule revising the fees charged to entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry. The rule, which will become effective September 1, 2004, amends section 310.8 of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). On April 26, 2004, the Commission published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, and accepted comments until June 1, 2004. The Commission had proposed raising the access fees to $45 per area code or $12,375 for the entire Registry. The Commission’s final rule revises the fee structure so that entities will be required to pay $40 per area code. The maximum fee that would be charged to any entity is $11,000, which would be charged to any entity accessing 280 area codes or more. Entities will still be able to obtain the first five area codes of data at no cost, and “exempt” entities may still access the Registry for free.

Organizations who wish to find additional information about fees and when their current subscription ends can do so at www.telemarketing.donotcall.gov. Subscriptions can be renewed up to 30 days before a subscription has expired. Subscriptions also will be renewable after they expire. The new 12-month subscription period will run from the first day of the month in which an organization renews, regardless of whether it renews before or after its current subscription ends.

The Commission vote to issue the final rule was 5-0. (FTC File No. P034305).

Copies of the Final Fee Rule can be requested from: Public Reference Branch, Federal Trade Commission, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. The public record for this proceeding is also available on the Internet: www.ftc/gov/bcp/rulemaking/tsr/tsrrulemaking/index.htm.

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.