AB 172

Current law regulates "telephone solicitation," which is defined as the

unsolicited initiation of a telephone conversation or text message for the purpose of

encouraging the recipient of the telephone call or text message 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.

This bill eliminates the state's nonsolicitation directory and instead prohibits

a telephone solicitor, or employee or contractor of a telephone solicitor, from making

a telephone solicitation, as defined under current state law, to a landline or wireless

telephone number that is included on a "state do-not-call registry," which the bill