A
Monthly Review of Issues Affecting Commercial Telemarketing
by Copilevitz & Canter, LLC, Attorneys at Law
April, 2007
FEDERAL
FTC
The FTC has submitted its annual report to Congress regarding the national "do-not-call" registry as required
by law. Please contact me if you would like a copy of this report which analyses the effectiveness of the
"do-not-call" registry, the size of the "do-not-call" registry, and its effect on telephone solicitations.
The review also contains a summary of the FTC's enforcement activities and states that as of September 2006
more than 132,000,000 names were on the list.
STATE
Colorado
The Colorado House is considering a bill (HB 1322) which would regulate telemarketing for mortgage brokering
purposes. All mortgage telemarketing would be required to comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Florida
A hearing has been scheduled before an appellate court in Florida with regard to whether past purchasers
The Florida court of appeals has reversed an earlier trial court decision which ruled that a previous
retail purchase did not constitute a "prior established business relationship" such that there was an
exemption to the state "do-not-call" list. Previously, the state had argued that a person who made a
purchase at a store did not have a "prior" relationship. The appellate court reversed this decision.
A bill has been introduced in the Florida House (HB 33) which would require political telephone calls
include a prompt disclosure that the call was paid for by a particular candidate and would bar such calls
to persons on the Florida "do-not-call" list if using a recorded message.
Idaho
Idaho has passed a law requiring that automatic dialing announcing devises promptly disclose at the
outset of the message the name of the person for whom the message is being made, the purpose of the
message, and the contact information of the caller.
The telemarketing registration section of the attorney general's office in the state of Idaho has
substantially revised its interpretation of its telemarketing registration law. The state will now
require that entities which hire telemarketers, but do not call "in house", register with the state
as a telemarketer, unless otherwise exempt. Thus, if a service bureau attempts to register in Idaho,
the state will request proof of exemption or registration from each of that service bureau's clients
before registering the service bureau. Because Idaho has many of the same exemptions found in many
other states, this could be as easy as providing information regarding the clients' exemption with
the service bureau registration or renewal. Please contact me if you have questions.
Kentucky
Kentucky has passed a law which adopts the federal "do-not-call" list and ends Kentucky's independent
state "do-not-call" list.
Kentucky has passed a law which amends the state's telemarketing law to prohibit misrepresentation
regarding the geographical location of a florist or any business. The law prohibits the use of local
numbers which are forwarded to a location outside the calling area if the name of the business indicates
that it is located in that particular geographical area.
Missouri
The Missouri House is considering a bill (HB 112) which would include text messaging in the
definition of telephone solicitations so that such messages would be prohibited unless exempt
from the Missouri "do-not-call" list.
North Carolina
The North Carolina General Assembly is considering a bill which would modify the current restrictions
regarding prerecorded messages. The bill would specifically bar political candidates from placing
unsolicited telephone calls to persons whose names are on the national "do-not-call" registry.
North Dakota
North Dakota has adopted a change to its telemarketing law which amends the law to include voice,
text, or other electronic communications in the definition of messages (SB 2195).
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania House is considering a bill which would amend the state's definition of "telephone
solicitation call" to require registration for charities which use professional fundraisers to raise
funds. The state has many exemptions, however, and even if the statute is modified, it would be
unlikely that many entities would be required to register.
The Pennsylvania House is considering a bill (HB 1091) which would regulate "persuasive poles"
conducted by telephone. Persuasive poles will be required to disclose at the beginning of the
call the name of the entity paying for the pole.
Vermont
The Vermont House is considering another bill (HB 306) which would require that express oral
authorization, as required by law, be tape recorded by the telemarketer and stored for a period
of at least four years.
Vermont has amended its lobbying law to require disclosure by lobbyists of expenses incurred in
telemarketing poling or other similar activities (HB 357).
Other
ATA
The American Teleservices Association is considering a set of inbound calling standards designed
to set an industry standard for how inbound calls are treated. If you are an ATA member you
should review this proposal and support self regulatory attempts.
Canada
A public hearing was held in May 2006 regarding the Canadian "do-not-call" list. The Canadian
Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission has since worked on four issues with regard
to the "do-not-call" list:
Database Management
Funding
Complaint Awareness
Privacy Insecurity.
Based on these goals, the CRTTC has issued two reports. As in the United States, the report recommends
funding the list through entities accessing it as required by law. The report also recommended that
consumers have a limited period of time to make a complaint after having received the improper
telemarketing call, 14 days from the live call or 30 days from receipt of a prerecorded call. If
you would like more information about the Canadian proposal, please contact me.
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