SACRAMENTO, CA – Legislation authored by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) to crack down on e-mail spam in California passed out of the State Assembly and is on its way to the Governor.

Assembly Bill 2950 gives law enforcement and consumers additional tools to reduce the junk e-mail that fills our in-boxes daily by focusing on false and deceptive spam which the federal government allows state’s to regulate.  AB 2950 has three main provisions:

1. Allows city attorneys and district attorneys to bring action against spammers.
2. Allows consumers to sue spammers in the county where the spam was received.
3. Makes it unlawful to advertise using an e-mail address without first obtaining permission from the owner of the e-mail address. 

“California is once again a nationwide leader in protecting consumers from e-mail spam,” said Assemblymember Huffman.”

In 2003 California became the first state to ban e-mail spam but was later pre-empted by the federal government.  AB 2950 operates within the confines of the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. 

Over 90 percent of all e-mail traffic in the United States is comprised of unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisements (spam), much of which includes false and deceptive content.  According to Ferris Research Incorporated, a San Francisco consulting group, spam cost United States organizations more than $17 billion in 2005 and California organizations well over $2 billion.