Bill Text: IL SB0328 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes: Provides that any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such contract automatically renews unless the consumer cancels the contract, shall (i) disclose the automatic renewal offer terms clearly and conspicuously in the contract before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the offer; (ii) not charge the consumer's credit or debit card or other payment mechanism for an automatic renewal service without first obtaining the consumer's consent to the contract containing the automatic renewal offer terms; (iii) provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel, which may be accomplished by linking to a resource that provides instructions that account for different platforms and services, in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer; and (iv) if the offer includes a free gift or trial, disclose how to cancel the contract, which may be accomplished by linking to a resource that provides instructions that account for different platforms and services, and allow the consumer to cancel before the consumer pays for the good or services. Provides that the Act does not apply to a contract for the sale of any product or service by a provider that is subject to Article XXII of the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the Act does not apply to a party regulated by the Director of the Department of Insurance or an affiliate of such party. Provides that the Act does not apply to a party, or an affiliate of the party, regulated by the Director of the Department of Insurance. Defines "automatic renewal offer terms".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 45-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0070 [SB0328 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB0328-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning business.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Automatic Contract Renewal Act is amended
by changing Sections 5, 10, and 20 as follows:
(815 ILCS 601/5)
Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act:
"Automatic renewal offer terms" means the following clear
and conspicuous disclosures:
(1) that the paid subscription or purchasing agreement
will continue until the consumer cancels;
(2) the timeframe in which the consumer must cancel in
order to avoid being charged for a subsequent term;
(3) the recurring charges that will be charged to the
consumer's credit or debit card or payment account with a
third party as part of the automatic renewal contract, and
that the amount of the charge may change, if that is the
case, and the amount to which the charge will change, if
known;
(4) the length of the automatic renewal term or that
the service is continuous, unless the length of the term
is chosen by the consumer; and
(5) the minimum purchase obligation, if any.

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"Clear and conspicuous" means in larger type than the
surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to
the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the
surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks, in
a manner that clearly calls attention to the language. In the
case of an audio disclosure, "clear and conspicuous" means in
a volume and cadence sufficient to be readily audible and
understandable.
"Contract" means a written agreement between 2 or more
parties.
"Parties" includes individuals and other legal entities,
but does not include the federal government, this State or
another state, or a unit of local government.
(Source: P.A. 101-412, eff. 8-16-19; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)
(815 ILCS 601/10)
Sec. 10. Automatic renewal; requirements.
(a) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or
corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or
services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such
contract automatically renews unless the consumer cancels the
contract, shall:
(i) disclose the automatic renewal offer terms clause
clearly and conspicuously in the contract before the
subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in
visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by

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voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent
to the offer; , including the cancellation procedure.
(ii) not charge the consumer's credit or debit card or
other payment mechanism for an automatic renewal service
without first obtaining the consumer's consent to the
contract containing the automatic renewal offer terms;
(iii) provide an acknowledgment that includes the
automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy, and
information regarding how to cancel, which may be
accomplished by linking to a resource that provides
instructions that account for different platforms and
services, in a manner that is capable of being retained by
the consumer; and
(iv) if the offer includes a free gift or trial,
disclose how to cancel the contract, which may be
accomplished by linking to a resource that provides
instructions that account for different platforms and
services, and allow the consumer to cancel before the
consumer pays for the good or services.
(b) Any person, firm, partnership, association, or
corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or
services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such
contract term is a specified term of 12 months or more, and
where such contract automatically renews for a specified term
of more than one month unless the consumer cancels the
contract, shall notify the consumer in writing of the

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automatic renewal. Written notice shall be provided to the
consumer no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days before
the cancellation deadline pursuant to the automatic renewal
offer terms clause. Such written notice shall disclose clearly
and conspicuously, in a retainable form:
(i) that unless the consumer cancels the contract it
will automatically renew; and
(ii) a mechanism for cancelling the contract, which
shall be offered in a manner in which the consumer
commonly interacts with the business; and where the
consumer can obtain details of the automatic renewal
provision and cancellation procedure (for example, by
contacting the business at a specified telephone number or
address or by referring to the contract).
(iii) the deadline by which the consumer must cancel
in order to avoid being charged for a subsequent term.
(b-5) A person, firm, partnership, association, or
corporation that makes an automatic renewal offer or
continuous service offer online shall provide a toll-free
telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if
the seller directly bills the consumer, or another
cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for
cancellation that shall be described in the notice required in
subsection (b). A consumer who accepts an automatic renewal or
continuous service offer online must be allowed to terminate
the automatic renewal or continuous service exclusively

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online, which may include a termination email formatted and
provided by the business that a consumer can send to the
business without additional information, or a link to a
website or other online service consumers can use to cancel.
(c) A person, firm, partnership, association, or
corporation will not be liable for a violation of this Act or
the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act if
such person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation
demonstrates that, as part of its routine business practice:
(i) it has established and implemented written
procedures to comply with this Act and enforces compliance
with the procedures;
(ii) any failure to comply with this Act is the result
of error; and
(iii) where an error has caused a failure to comply
with this Act, it provides a full refund or credit for all
amounts billed to or paid by the consumer from the date of
the renewal until the date of the termination of the
account, or the date of the subsequent notice of renewal,
whichever occurs first.
(Source: P.A. 102-517, eff. 1-1-22.)
(815 ILCS 601/20)
Sec. 20. Applicability.
(a) This Act does not apply to a contract entered into
before the effective date of this Act.

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(b) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly does
not apply to a contract entered into before the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
(c) This Act does not apply to business-to-business
contracts.
(d) This Act does not apply to banks, trust companies,
savings and loan associations, savings banks, or credit unions
licensed or organized under the laws of any state or the United
States, or any foreign bank maintaining a branch or agency
licensed or organized under the laws of any state of the United
States, or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof.
(e) This Act does not apply to a contract that is extended
beyond the original term of the contract as the result of the
consumer's initiation of a change in the original contract
terms.
(f) This Act does not apply to a contract for the sale of
any product or service by a provider that is subject to Article
XXII of the Public Utilities Act.
(g) This Act does not apply to a party, or an affiliate of
the party, regulated by the Director of the Department of
Insurance.
(Source: P.A. 93-950, eff. 1-1-05.)