Skip to main content
HR 2120 105th Congress House

Telephone Consumer Slamming Prevention Act of 1997

Official title: To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to strengthen and expand the procedures for preventing the slamming of interstate telephone service subscribers, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 26, 1998 See on congress.gov
Science, Technology, Communications Administrative procedureCommerceConsumer complaintsConsumer education
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Consumer protectionFederal Communications CommissionFederal-state relationsFeesFines (Penalties)ForfeitureGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkIndependent regulatory commissionsLawLiability (Law)Public recordsRestrictive trade practicesSales promotionTelecommunication industryTelephoneTelephone rates
This bill died when the 105th Congress ended
It never became law before the 105th Congress (1997–1998) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 18, 1997
Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
Jul 9, 1997
Referred to the House Committee on Commerce.
Jul 9, 1997
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action July 18, 1997

Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Telephone Consumer Slamming Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit telecommunications carriers from submitting or executing a change in a subscriber's selection of an interstate telephone service provider unless the carrier to which the subscriber will be changed has obtained a written change authorization from the subscriber.

Makes carriers that violate such requirement liable for fees imposed for changing service to or from the unauthorized carrier and long distance charges incurred by the subscriber during a specified period of unauthorized service.

Sets forth conditions under which States may administer a slamming complaint system for subscribers of interstate telephone service. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to administer such systems for States that fail to do so. Requires such systems to: (1) make available procedures for registering and maintaining records of complaints by subscribers of unauthorized changes of service; (2) make determinations and maintain records of violations and liability; (3) determine, on a monthly basis, the number of violations involving illegal changes of service for each carrier and provide such information to the FCC; and (4) comply with FCC regulations.

Directs carriers providing interstate telephone service to include information on the slamming complaint system in phone bills.

Requires the FCC to establish performance limits that are the maximum acceptable rates of unauthorized service changes. Makes carriers that exceed such limits liable for forfeiture penalties.

Applies existing slamming liability provisions only to intrastate service changes.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2120: Telephone Consumer Slamming Prevention Act of 1997. 105th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-2120/
MLA
"H.R. 2120: Telephone Consumer Slamming Prevention Act of 1997." 105th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-2120/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2120, 105th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-2120/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2120: Telephone Consumer Slamming Prevention Act of 1997](https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-2120/)
Report a problem