21-6323. Refusal to yield a telephone party line.
(a) Refusal to yield a telephone party line is intentionally refusing to immediately yield or surrender the use of a party line when informed that the line is needed for an emergency call to a fire department or police department or for medical aid or ambulance service.
(b) Refusal to yield a telephone party line is a class C misdemeanor.
(c) No person shall request the use of a party line on the pretext that an emergency exists, knowing that no emergency in fact exists.
(d) Every telephone directory published for distribution to members of the general public shall contain a notice setting forth a summary of the provisions of this section. Such notice shall be printed in type which is no smaller than any other type on the same page and shall be preceded by the word "WARNING." The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to those directories distributed solely for business advertising services, commonly known as classified directories.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) "Party line" means a subscriber's line telephone circuit, consisting of two or more main telephone stations connected therewith, each station with a distinctive ring or telephone number; and
(2) "emergency" means a situation in which property or human life is in jeopardy and the prompt summoning of aid is essential.
History: L. 2010, ch. 136, § 208; July 1, 2011.