NAR-Backed Junk Fax Bill Heads to President

Publishing date: 06/28/05

to RISMEDIA, The Junk Fax Prevention Act, S.714, will be sent to President Bush for approval. The bill, which is designed to allow the consumer to opt out of receiving faxes, rather than requiring written, signed permission, was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. NAR estimates that REALTORS® would have had to get permission from approximately 66 million customers, clients and businesses they work with in order to comply with the bill.

“Passage of the junk fax bill represents a major victory for consumers and businesses alike. Without this bill, Realtors would not have been able to fax property listings to consumers who call and request such information without first getting written permission,” said NAR President Al Mansell of Salt Lake City. “NAR commends Congress for passing legislation that will eliminate junk faxes without creating costly regulations that burden legitimate businesses and hamper consumers’ ability to receive requested information in a timely manner.” (quote from Rismedia, dated June 28, 2005)..

The July 1, 2005 effective date has been postponed by the FCC until January 9, 2006, allowing time for the President and Congress to review the proposed bill. This is the second time the FCC postponed the bill for six months. The last stay was a result of NAR filing a petition along with a group of over 600 businesses and trade organizations called the Fax Ban Colition.

RISMEDIA, June 28 – Legislation backed by the National Association of Realtors that is designed to alleviate problems created by do-not-fax rules for consumers and businesses alike was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives today and the Senate Friday.

The Junk Fax Prevention Act, S. 714, will now be sent to President Bush, who is expected to sign the bill shortly.

The legislation was introduced by U.S. Sens. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and supported by Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas), John Dingell (D-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

NAR strongly supports efforts to limit unsolicited faxes, including the creation of a new consumer right to “opt out” of receiving faxes even from those with whom the recipient has an established business relationship. The association believes that the Federal Communications Commission went too far by requiring signed, written permission before sending faxes. NAR estimates that Realtors would have been forced to create and store over 66 million permission forms to sustain the over 6 million home sales transactions that occurred last year.

“Passage of the junk fax bill represents a major victory for consumers and businesses alike. Without this bill, Realtors would not have been able to fax property listings to consumers who call and request such information without first getting written permission,” said NAR President Al Mansell of Salt Lake City. “NAR commends Congress for passing legislation that will eliminate junk faxes without creating costly regulations that burden legitimate businesses and hamper consumers’ ability to receive requested information in a timely manner.”

The FCC postponed the effective date of the do-not-fax rules until January 9, 2006, to give Congress and the president more time to complete consideration of the junk fax bill.

Last year, the FCC postponed the effective date of the fax rules for six months in response to a petition filed by NAR, state associations of Realtors and the Fax Ban Coalition, a broad-based group of over 600 businesses and trade organizations including NAR. Without the extended stay or legislative action, the fax rules would have taken effect on July 1, 2005.

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