Congress passes fax bill that permanently allows "established business relationships".

Both houses of the U.S. Congress have passed bills that, with President Bush's expected signature, would permanently allow an existing business relationship--EBR--exemption for commerical faxes.

"This is postive action for business media companies," said Gordon T. Hughes II, president and CEO of American Business Media, a trade press association. "A cornerstone of this law, the established business relationship, is an important factor in today's business-to-business communication."

The EBR exemption provided under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 was interpreted differently over the years as applying--or not--to sending commercial faxes. State courts, the Federal Communications Commission, Congress, and business lobbyists varied widely in such interpretations, necessitating the new law.

The new law would require opt-out notices on the first page of faxes providing a toll-free, 24-hour number for those who wish to be removed from fax lists.

Other provisions include:

* There is no time limit for EBRs, unlike the national do-not-call list which limits EBRs to those who made a purchase in the past 18 months or an inquiry in the past three months.

* The FCC would also have the option to exempt nonprofit groups from the opt-out notice requirement.

* Faxers would have to obtain fax numbers either directly from the recipient or from public sources, such as directories, ads, and internet sites. Numbers from other sources would be banned. Numbers already in the possession of the faxers would be grandfathered.

* The FCC would be required to issue an annual report about its enforcement efforts against junk faxes.