,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #abbj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #ad1 #bjai ,ms4 ,eshoo 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,ryan1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,mr4 ,courtney1 ,mr4 ,beyer1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 and ,mr4 ,thompson of ,california7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,communications ,act of #aicd to provide for certain requirements relating to charges for internet1 television1 and voice services1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,truth-in-,billing1 ,remedies1 and ,user ,empowerment over ,fees ,act of #bjai or the ,,true ,fees ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,requirements relating to charges for covered services 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,vii of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #fja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #gbc4 ,requirements relating to charges for covered services 7a7 ,transparency in advertising 7#a7 ,in general ,a provider of a covered service may not advertise the price of such service unless the advertised price is the total amount that the provider will charge for or relating to the provision of such service1 including any related taxes1 administrative fees1 equipment rental fees1 or other charges1 to a consumer who accepts the offer made in the advertisement4 7#b7 ,exception ,paragraph 7#a7 does not require a provider of a covered service to include in the advertised price of the service any tax1 fee1 or other charge that-- 7,a7 the provider is required to charge under any provision of ,federal law or of the law of a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state2 and 7,b7 is not uniform throughout the ,united ,states4 7b7 ,transparency in ,e-,billing ,a provider of a covered service may not provide a bill to a consumer in an electronic format unless the provider-- 7#a7 provides the bill1 or a notification that the bill is available1 by email or a functional equivalent of email that permits the consumer to view the bill or notification without having to access an online account or the functional equivalent of an online account or to take any similar additional steps2 and 7#b7 includes in the bill or notification provided in accordance with paragraph 7#a7 an itemized statement that breaks down the total amount charged for or relating to the provision of the covered service by the amount charged for the provision of the service itself and the amount of any related taxes1 administrative fees1 equipment rental fees1 or other charges1 in the same level of detail as would be provided in a paper bill4 7c7 ,requirements for increases in charges 7#a7 ,in general ,in the case of a provider of a covered service that enters into a contract with a consumer for the provision of a covered service-- 7,a7 if the provider increases the total amount charged for or relating to the provision of the service under the contract1 regardless of the amount of the increase or whether the increase is in the amount charged for the provision of the service itself or in any related taxes1 administrative fees1 equipment rental fees1 or other charges1 the provider shall-- 7i7 provide the consumer with clear notice of the increase not later than #ba days before the increase takes effect1 in the same manner in which the provider provides to the consumer a notification that the consumer's bill is available 7or1 if no separate notification is provided1 in the same manner as the provider provides the consumer's bill to the consumer72 and 7ii7 permit the consumer to terminate the contract without paying any early termination fee or other penalty2 and 7,b7 the provider may not increase any fee or other charge for equipment rental unless the equipment is upgraded 7whether through a hardware or software upgrade7 so as to provide a substantial increase in functionality4 7#b7 ,exception for additional or upgraded service requested by consumer ,paragraph 7#a77;,a7 does not apply with respect to an increase resulting from the provision1 at the request of the consumer1 of a service that is in addition to1 or an upgrade of1 a service covered by the contract4 7d7 ,prohibition on compulsory alternative dispute resolution 7#a7 ,prohibition on contractual provision ,a provider of a covered service may not include in a contract with a consumer for the provision of a covered service a provision that requires the consumer to resolve a covered dispute with the provider through alternative dispute resolution4 7#b7 ,unenforceability of contractual provision ,any alternative dispute resolution provision included in a contract in violation of paragraph 7#a7 shall be void and unenforceable4 7e7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,alternative dispute resolution ,the term alternative dispute resolution has the meaning given such term in section #c of the ,y#b,k ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ffjb74 7#b7 ,covered dispute ,the term covered dispute means a dispute between a provider of a covered service and a consumer in which the consumer alleges that-- 7,a7 the amount charged by the provider for or relating to the provision of the service 7including any related taxes1 administrative fees1 equipment rental fees1 or other charges7-- 7i7 was increased without notice being provided to the consumer as required by subsection 7c77#a77;,a77i72 or 7ii7 during the period covered by any promotional rate or other discount that was included in the price that the consumer agreed to pay for or relating to the provision of the covered service1 did not reflect the promotional rate or other discount2 or 7,b7 the provider billed the consumer-- 7i7 for the provision of a service 7or for any related taxes1 administrative fees1 or other charges7 to which the consumer did not subscribe during the period covered by the bill2 or 7ii7 for rental of equipment 7or for any related taxes1 administrative fees1 or other charges7 that the consumer did not rent during the period covered by the bill4 7#c7 ,covered service ,the term covered service-- 7,a7 means-- 7i7 internet access service2 7ii7 voice service 7as defined in section #bbg7;e77#h772 7iii7 commercial mobile service 7as defined in section #ccb72 7iv7 commercial mobile data service 7as defined in section #fjja of the ,middle ,class ,tax ,relief and ,job ,creation ,act of #bjab 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #adja772 and 7v7 service provided by a multichannel video programming distributer 7as defined in section #fjb71 to the extent such distributor is acting as a multichannel video programming distributor2 and 7,b7 includes any other service offered or provided as part of a bundle or package with any service referred to in subparagraph 7,a74 7#d7 ,internet access service ,the term internet access service-- 7,a7 means a mass-market retail service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive data from all or substantially all internet endpoints1 including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the communications service2 and 7,b7 also includes any service that-- 7i7 the ,commission finds to be providing a functional equivalent of the service described in subparagraph 7,a72 or 7ii7 is used to evade the protections set forth in this section4 4 7b7 ,transitional rule relating to definition of voice service ,subsection 7e77#c77;,a77ii7 of section #gbc of the ,communications ,act of #aicd1 as added by subsection 7a7 of this section1 shall apply before the effective date of the amendment made to subsection 7e77#h7 of section #bbg of such ,act 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bbg7 by subparagraph 7,c7 of section #ejc7;a77#b7 of division ,p of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjah 7,public ,law #aae-ada7 as if such amendment was already in effect4 7c7 ,effective date ,section #gbc of the ,communications ,act of #aicd1 as added by subsection 7a7 of this section1 shall apply beginning on the date that is #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 except that subsections 7c7 and 7d7 of such section #gbc shall not apply with respect to a contract entered into1 and as in effect1 before the date that is #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4