Alphabetical telephone directories: distribution.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law provides that, unless certain determinations are made by the commission about the impact of federal action, the commission has no jurisdiction or control over classified telephone directories (commonly known as yellow pages) or commercial advertising included as part of a telephone corporation's alphabetical telephone directories (commonly known as white pages) . Existing law requires the commission to require all telephone corporations that are local exchange carriers to include in their telephone directory information concerning emergency situations that may affect the telephone network. This bill would require a telephone corporation or one of its affiliates to allow any telephone service subscriber to opt out of receiving a telephone directory published by a telephone corporation. The bill would prohibit telephone corporations from delivering directories to subscribers who opt out of receiving a directory and require that a directory contain clear and conspicuous language regarding opting out of receiving future directories and recycling of the directory. The bill would require each 3rd-party vendor, as defined, as a contractual condition for receiving telephone subscriber information from the telephone corporation that is to be incorporated into a telephone directory, to allow any telephone service customer to opt out of receiving a telephone directory published by the 3rd-party vendor, to not deliver directories to subscribers who opt out of receiving a directory, and to include clear and conspicuous language on the front cover of the directory regarding opting out of receiving future directories and recycling of the directory.