a) (Definitions)

i) “Automatic renewal” means a plan or arrangement under which a paid subscription or purchasing agreement is automatically renewed at the end of a definite term for a subsequent term.

ii) “Continuous service” means a plan or arrangement under which a subscription or purchasing agreement continues until the consumer cancels the service.

iii) “Consumer” means an individual, small business, or nonprofit organization that purchases, leases, or receives goods or services in this state under an automatic renewal or continuous service offer.

b) (Automatic Renewal and Continuous Service Requirements)

i) It shall be a violation of the [State Unfair, Deceptive, and Abusive Trade Practices Law] for any business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state to:

1) Fail to present to the consumer, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the material terms of the offer, including a description of the goods or services subject to renewal, the amount and frequency of charges, and the cancellation mechanism, before requesting the consumer’s consent or billing information and in visual proximity to that request. If the offer includes a free gift, trial, or temporary price, the business shall clearly and conspicuously explain how and when the price will change and the price that will subsequently be charged;

2) Charge the consumer for the initial term of the offer without first obtaining the consumer’s affirmative consent to the offer and its terms, including the terms of any promotional or discounted introductory period;

3) Charge the consumer following a price increase, or a price higher than what was initially disclosed, without either obtaining the consumer’s affirmative consent to the increased price prior to billing, or allowing the consumer to cancel at any time within fourteen (14) days of the charge and refunding the consumer the amount equivalent to the remaining term on a pro rata basis;

4) Fail to provide the consumer the option to cancel at any time through a mechanism that is as easy to use as, and through the same medium as, the mechanism the consumer used to consent, and through every other medium by which the business allows a consumer to provide affirmative consent. Where consent was obtained in person, the business shall also make a reasonable effort to offer cancellation through a similar in-person method, and shall at a minimum, offer cancellation through an online mechanism or a telephone number;

5) Impose unreasonable or unlawful conditions on, refuse to acknowledge, obstruct, or unreasonably delay a consumer’s cancellation request. Unreasonable conditions include, but are not limited to:

(a) Providing false information about how to cancel;

(b) Misrepresenting the consequences or costs of cancellation;

(c) Requiring the consumer to hold for longer than 15 minutes for a cancellation request on the phone or virtually;

(d) Hanging up on a consumer who calls to cancel;

(e) Failing to provide an automated process for cancellation or the ability to receive a return call from a human operator at a set time within one business day for a cancellation request on the phone; and

(f) The following applies only to a business with more than five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in gross annual revenue nationally that offers automatic renewal or continuous service agreements:

(i) Failing to make a good faith effort to connect the customer to a human customer service representative upon a consumer’s request within fifteen minutes of the request or at a set time within one business day for a return call.

6) Present a retention offer, retention benefit, or information about the effects of cancellation without simultaneously and continuously displaying in a prominent location, a direct link to cancel, and promptly processing the cancellation if the consumer uses that link;

7) Fail to provide clear and conspicuous notice of an upcoming automatic renewal or continuous service charge, as follows:

(a) For an offer with an initial paid term of one (1) year or longer that renews for a term of six (6) months or longer, at least fifteen (15) days but not more than forty-five (45) days before the cancellation deadline;

(b) For a renewal term of thirty-one (31) days or less, with the same frequency as the business bills the consumer, or no less than once every twelve (12) months;

(c) Where the offer includes a free gift or trial for more than one (1) month, at least three (3) days but not more than twenty-one (21) days before the cancellation deadline for the first chargeable period;

(d) Where the offer includes a free gift or trial for less than one (1) month, at least 24 hours before the cancellation deadline.

Such notice shall include the amount currently being charged and the method to cancel;

8) Fail to provide a consumer clear and conspicuous notice of a material change to the offer’s terms, including a price increase, at least five business days but no more than thirty days before the change takes effect.

c) (Enforcement)

i) Violations of this Act shall be subject to the enforcement provisions and penalties of the [State Consumer Protection Act]. The Attorney General may bring an action in the name of the state to restrain violations, enforce restitution, and recover civil penalties.

ii) A seller is not in violation of this Act if the seller shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error made notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid such error, and provides impacted customers with reasonable opportunities for refunds.

d) The provisions of this Act are severable. If any provision of this Act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

e) [State] has a compelling interest in protecting privacy and personal information of consumers. In administering this Act, state and local agencies, businesses, and any other entities, shall only request data necessary to administer this Act and retain it only as required to administer and achieve the purposes of the Act. Any personal information of consumers or their data collected or obtained in the course of administering this Act shall be shared only in a manner that has been deidentified and aggregated to the greatest extent allowable. A consumer’s personal information or data collected or obtained in the course of administering this Act shall not be otherwise disclosed without the informed consent of the individual, a warrant signed by a [state] judge or federal judge, lawful court order administered within [state] or a lawful federal court order, or subpoena administered within [state] or federal subpoena, or unless otherwise required by federal or state statute. Personal information or data may be considered deidentified if it cannot reasonably be used to infer information about, or otherwise be linked to, a particular individual or household. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or restrict the ability of the Attorney General or any other state or local authority to make public the identity of a seller found to have violated this Act, the nature of the violation, or any related enforcement action, penalty, or settlement.