A chiropractor in Michigan has filed a class action to prevent the state from using 900 numbers to dispense public information. The chiropractor, who dialed a 900 number operated by the state Department of Consumer and Industry Services to verify licenses of doctors, had to pay for that information at a cost of $1.50 a minute. The plaintiff's argument, according to his lawyer, is that the state shouldn't profit from giving out public information.
Profits have nothing to do with providing the 900 line, according to Maura Campbell, a CIS spokesperson. Salaries and benefits for the two employees who work her department's 900 line are covered--and just barely--by revenue generated by calls and by fees from written requests for information. The department could not afford the manpower involved in handling the calls if the 900 line didn't make the service self-sustaining.
Campbell also notes that licensure information is increasingly available for free on the agency's Web site. Web traffic is likely to drive down 900-call demand and that, rather than the lawsuit, is what might convince the state it should get out of the 900-line business.
The lawsuit is based on Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. A more complicated lawsuit brought against Florida's 900 numbers was settled out of court.
