Alaska State Legislature
News from the House of Representatives

Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary
716 West 4th Avenue, Suite 510
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: (907) 269-0167
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality Line: 1-800-478-6540

Consumer Protection Roundtable December 1st

Anchorage Session To Combat Business Fraud

For Immediate Release: November 30, 1998 Contact: Rep. Fred Dyson at (907) 694-6683 or Rep. Eric Croft at (907) 269-0216.

Anchorage -- To help protect Alaskans from business fraud, Rep. Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River) and Rep. Eric Croft (D-Anchorage) are convening a Consumer Protection Roundtable in Anchorage on Tuesday, December 1.

Dyson and Croft have invited more than fifty agencies, organizations and individuals who try to-or want to-protect Alaskans against consumer fraud to participate in the Roundtable. Representatives from the Alaska Attorney General's office, AkPIRG, the Better Business Bureau and senior citizens groups are expected to attend, along with attorneys active in fraud litigation. Members of the public are welcome, also.

Alaska continues to lag far behind other states in providing protection to consumers, especially our elderly, who are particularly vulnerable. Reps. Dyson and Croft co-sponsored House Bill 203, now law, to empower ordinary Alaskans to fight back against business fraud.

Alaskan consumers have grown increasingly vulnerable to fraud since the Dept. of Law's Consumer Protection Section was eliminated in the late 1980's. Knowing that our state's enforcement efforts are weak, swindlers prey heavily on our citizens, giving us a dubious reputation as easy targets, and costing us an estimated $10 million a year in telemarketing fraud alone. Though Alaska's state government consumer protection apparatus is inadequate to protect our citizens, HB 203 gives Alaskan's their own "teeth."

The Roundtable agenda includes a discussion of HB 203 and a proposed complaint screening and mediation program run by senior citizens. Participants will report how their agency or organization addresses consumer fraud and how they might network to create a better response.

The Roundtable runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 220 of the Legislative Information Office at 716 W. 4th Ave. Public testimony begins at 2:15. The Roundtable will be teleconferenced to selected Legislative Information Offices.

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