J.R. Kelly, director of the division of consumer services for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, was back by popular demand at the Promotion Marketing Association’s legal conference in December. He told the audience he felt welcome enough to leave his bullet proof vest at home.
Kelly gave an overview of activities in Florida, a state that has caused promotion marketers angst on a number of fronts, including its statute requiring full text of rules and regulations for game promotions be included in all advertisements.
“All we want is compliance with Florida law,” he said of statute 849.084, which legislates game promotions.
However, an amendment to that law, which is expected to be reintroduced this congressional session, would relax the “full text” rules. The state, which did not introduce the amendment, is in full support of it. “We will not oppose that bill,” Kelly said.
The amendment states that the full rules would be replaced with “material terms” to be included in all ads.
“The amendment would allow marketers to condense the rules and regulations down to the most critical components, but still have the full rules available at retail or on a Web site for consumers to easily access at no cost,” Kelly said.
If the law is amended, the DACA would adopt rules clarifying material terms. Kelly said that a workshop would be conducted to interpret and implement the amendment and he hoped that promotional marketers and the legal community would participate in the process.
Last year, the amendment was filed by Gary Rutledge, a lobbyist for Kraft Foods and an attorney at Rutledge Ecenia Purnell & Hoffman, Tallahassee, FL. The bill to which the amendment had been attached died.
“We believe that it’s important to have a consistent approach to providing consumers with information about promotions,” said Kraft spokesperson Kathy Knuth. “The proposed Florida amendment would still provide the most important, material information to consumers and would also be consistent with current regulations in other states.”
On another front, Kelly said that filings and complaints about game promotions were down in Florida.
In 2002-2003, filings totaled 3,517 with six complaints, compared to 1,196 in 2004-2005 with five complaints. There were 2,384 enforcement actions in 2002-2003, with 469 fines imposed; this compares to 218 and 138, respectively, in 2004-2005.
“That tells us that people are complying with the law,” Kelly said. “That’s all we want. All were resolved satisfactorily, except one. I think that’s tremendously favorable for your industry.”
Most of the complaints were about misrepresentations or from consumers who didn’t get a prize, Kelly explained.
The major areas of concern for the state (which he admitted “causes us heartburn”) are late filings (which should be submitted within seven days before the promotion starts); late filings of the winner’s list (which is due 60 days after the winners have been determined); confusion regarding the award date; the use of old department of state forms (which don’t include all of the state’s requirements); the operator name does not match the bond; and the rules don’t match the application for end dates of the promotion.
“These are the areas that still generate a lot of conversations, e-mail and telephone calls,” Kelly said.
As for 2005, Kelly said the department is trying to move into e-filing to make life easier for all, but no date has been set for that conversion.
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