Bill > H250

This bill amends Chapter 93 of the General Laws by adding a new section that declares it an unfair and deceptive business practice to misrepresent a company's geographic location in local telephone directories. Specifically, it prohibits businesses from listing a local telephone number if calls are routinely forwarded to a location outside the directory's service area and the true physical address isn't provided, or from using a fictitious business name that misrepresents the location without also disclosing the true physical address. A "local telephone directory" is defined as a free classified advertising or business section of a telephone directory distributed in a local area, and a "local telephone number" is one with a prefix used for phones physically located within that directory's area, excluding long-distance or toll-free numbers.