Bill was drafted as a response to mailers offering to update companies' records with the secretary of state's Office for an inflated price
State lawmakers are considering a bill intended to give residents more warning when they receive advertisements designed to mimic official state documents. The House Commerce Committee approved House Bill 660 last week, which was drafted as a response to mailers offering to update companies' records with the secretary of state's Office for an inflated price.
Secretary of State Tom SchedlerWhile it appears the company that sent out the mailers does little more than mail the information they collect to the state, the firm charges a $125 for the service, five times as much as the $25 fee charged by agency, Secretary of State Tom Schedler said.
Under the proposed bill, documents that could reasonably be interpreted as coming from an official state agency would be required to include a disclaimer in 14-point font explaining that it is a solicitation from a private firm rather than an official document.
The mailers, which include documents that look like official governmental documents, do include a disclaimer in small type notifying companies that the forms were not sent from a government agency. That disclaimer is required by federal law but could be easy to overlook, Schedler said. "They're right inside the letter of the law," Schedler said.