The prohibition on telephone solicitations to residential customers, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Current law regulates "telephone solicitation," which is defined as the unsolicited initiation of a telephone conversation for the purpose of encouraging the recipient of the telephone call to purchase property, goods, or services. Current law generally prohibits a telephone solicitor, or employee or contractor of a telephone solicitor, from making a telephone solicitation to a residential customer if the customer's landline or wireless telephone number is included in a nonsolicitation directory maintained by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), which lists residential customers who do not wish to receive telephone solicitations. Current law exempts the following from the prohibition: 1) telephone solicitations made by nonprofit organizations; 2) telephone solicitations made in response to a recipient's request; and 3) telephone solicitations made to current clients of the person selling property, goods, or services that are the reason for the solicitation. Current law requires DATCP to promulgate rules requiring that telephone solicitors register with DATCP and pay initial registration and annual registration renewal fees to DATCP, which DATCP must use for establishing and maintaining the nonsolicitation directory, as well as for consumer protection, information, and education. Current law prohibits a telephone solicitor who is not registered from requiring that employees or contractors make telephone solicitations in this state. Current law also provides that if a residential customer does not biennially renew his or her listing in the nonsolicitation directory, DATCP must eliminate the customer's telephone number from the directory.

Federal law also regulates telephone solicitations by authorizing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit deceptive and abusive telemarketing acts or practices. Under that authority, the FTC has promulgated a regulation that, with certain exceptions, prohibits a telemarketer from initiating a telephone call encouraging the purchase of goods or services if the recipient's telephone number is on a national "do-not-call" registry maintained by the FTC that consists of the telephone numbers of persons who do not wish to receive such calls. One of the exceptions applies to telemarketing calls to businesses. Federal law requires telemarketers to pay annual fees in order to access the registry. The FTC allows a person to add a landline or wireless telephone number to the registry through a toll-free number or over the Internet. Under federal law, inclusion of a telephone number in the registry is permanent and a person is not required to periodically renew the inclusion. However, a person may remove a telephone number from the registry and the FTC must periodically review the registry and remove telephone numbers that have been disconnected or reassigned to another person.

Who's behind it

7 lawmakers are its authors⁠. All 7 are Republicans.

1 more lawmaker signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DATCP