Sixteen examples of telemarketing legislative introductions

Telemarketing, Jun 1995 by Gottlieb, Mag

DMA was tracking nearly one hundred bills relating to telephone marketing as this article went to press. That number will certainly increase as the legislative year continues. Some examples of recent introductions follow.

Connecticut H.B. 5055 repeals the state ban on ADRMP(automated dialing recorded message players) calls.

Florida S.B. 794 authorizes the addition of paging device telephone numbers to the state "do not call" list. It also exempts from registration requirements telephone solicitors' retail installment contracts.

Illinois H.B. 1575 allows persons 65 years of age or older to cancel a telephone or home solicitation sale within 30 days.

Illinois H.B. 2233 prohibits the sending of unsolicited faxes unless the sender establishes a toll-free number for recipients to call to notify the sender not to fax any further unsolicited documents.

Massachusetts H.B. 3902 prohibits recorded messages longer than 10 seconds.

Michigan S.B. 213 calls for a ban on unsolicited advertisements transmitted to cellular phone numbers.

Michigan S.B. 214 restricts calls to between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. and bans calls which include prerecorded messages.

Minnesota H.F. 269 and S.F. 272 require that the charge for Minnesota sales tax be included in advertisements for pay-per-call services.

Missouri H.B. 626 requires telephone solicitors to identify themselves and ask for the called party's permission to continue the call.

Montana S.B. 356 authorizes the promulgation of a "no solicitation calls" list, and requires certain disclosures to be made at the beginning of a sales call.

New York A.B. 4360 requires telephone companies to provide free blocking of all "mass message services.

New York A.B. 3623 requires local phone companies to provide free blocking of "adult messages, group calling services or recorded information and entertainment services.

North Carolina H.B. 358 prohibits phone calls by ADRMPs after 6 p.m. local time.

Oklahoma S.B. 536 prohibits telephone companies from billing their customers for "any charges for any telephone call that is initiated by dialing a 1-800 number."

Rhode Island S.B. 869 authorizes the creation of a "no sales solicitation calls" list for any residential, mobile or paging device subscriber number. Telephone solicitors are required by the bill to obtain the list for a fee. The bill also stipulates that a telephone sale is not valid unless the consumer signs and returns a contract to the seller. There are no exemptions.

Registration Of Charitable Organizations/Professional Solicitors

Pennsylvania H.B. 493 requires charitable organizations to register with the state. It also provides that, "a charitable organization shall not enter into any contract or agreement with or employ any professional or fund-raising counsel or professional solicitor unless that professional fund-raising counsel or professional solicitor is registered with the (state)."

Mag Gottlieb is the director of state government affairs. Ms. Gottlieb has more than 12 years of experience in both federal and state legislative arenas.