PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 954, 1712, 1925 PRINTER'S NO. 1989
No. 820 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY PILEGGI, O'PAKE, ERICKSON, VANCE, CORMAN, ORIE,
TOMLINSON, RAFFERTY, WONDERLING, MUSTO, EARLL, WAUGH, PIPPY,
LAVALLE, KASUNIC, BRUBAKER, BROWNE, D. WHITE, C. WILLIAMS AND
GREENLEAF, MAY 2, 2007
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, APRIL 29, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 4, 1996 (P.L.911, No.147), entitled
2 "An act providing for registration requirements for
3 telemarketers and for powers and duties of the Office of
4 Attorney General," further providing for definitions and for
5 registration requirement; and providing for unwanted
6 automatic political calls.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. The definition of "list administrator" in section
10 2 of the act of December 4, 1996 (P.L.911, No.147), known as the
11 Telemarketer Registration Act, amended September 12, 2003
12 (P.L.105, No.22), is amended and the section is amended by
13 adding definitions to read:
14 Section 2. Definitions.
15 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
16 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
17 context clearly indicates otherwise:
18 "Automatic dialing-announcing device." A device that selects
19 and dials telephone numbers and that, working alone or in
1 conjunction with other equipment, disseminates a prerecorded or
2 synthesized voice message to the telephone number called.
3 "Automatic political call." The use of an automatic dialing-
4 announcing device on behalf of any of the following:
5 (1) A candidate as defined in section 102(a) of the act
6 of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania
7 Election Code; a party as defined in section 102(n) of the
8 Pennsylvania Election Code; or a political body as defined in
9 section 102(p) of the Pennsylvania Election Code.
10 (2) A political committee as defined in section 1621(h)
11 of the Pennsylvania Election Code.
12 (3) A political organization as defined in section
13 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-
14 514, 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.).
15 * * *
16 "List administrator." [A nonprofit] An organization, as
17 designated by contract entered into by the Director of the
18 Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General,
19 that accepts individual names, addresses and telephone numbers
20 of persons who do not wish to receive telephone solicitation
21 calls and that has been in existence for ten or more years. In
22 the event that the Federal Trade Commission and/or Federal
23 Communications Commission establish a unified national No Call
24 Registry for the purpose of providing consumers with protection
25 from receiving unwanted telephone solicitation calls similar to
26 the protection provided in this act, then the Director of the
27 Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General
28 may enter into an agreement to utilize the services of the
29 administrator of any such national No Call Registry in lieu of
30 using [any nonprofit] AN organization. <--
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1 * * *
2 Section 2. Section 3 of the act is amended to read:
3 Section 3. Registration requirement.
4 (a) General rule.--In addition to any other requirements
5 imposed by law, a telemarketer or the telemarketing business
6 which employs the telemarketer is required to register with the
7 Office of Attorney General at least 30 days prior to offering
8 for sale consumer goods or services through any medium. This
9 section will not apply, however, to persons or businesses
10 licensed by or registered with a Federal or Commonwealth agency
11 or to a person or business conducting telemarketing through the
12 use of automatic political calls. Notwithstanding any other
13 provision of this act, any business which provides telemarketing
14 services to other entities and has been under the same ownership
15 and control for less than five years shall register under this
16 section.
17 (b) Unlawful conduct.--It shall be unlawful for any
18 telemarketer to initiate a telephone call to or receive a
19 telephone call from a consumer in connection with the purchase
20 of consumer goods or services unless the telemarketer or the
21 telemarketing business which employs the telemarketer is
22 registered with the Office of Attorney General.
23 (c) Penalty.--Failure to register as required by this act
24 constitutes a misdemeanor of the second degree.
25 Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
26 Section 5.3. Unwanted automatic political calls.
27 (a) General rule.--
28 (1) Except as set forth in subsection (b), beginning 30
29 days after publication of the notice under paragraph (3), a
30 person may not initiate or cause to be initiated an automated <--
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1 AUTOMATIC political call to a residential OR WIRELESS <--
2 telephone number of a residential telephone subscriber who <--
3 does not wish to receive telephone solicitation calls <--
4 AUTOMATIC POLITICAL CALLS and has caused the subscriber's <--
5 name, address and telephone number to be enrolled on a do-
6 not-call list for AUTOMATIC political calls maintained by a <--
7 list administrator.
8 (2) The list under paragraph (1) shall be developed and
9 maintained separately from the list established under section
10 5.2.
11 (3) The list under paragraph (1) shall be completed by
12 September 15, 2008. The list administrator shall transmit a
13 notice of completion to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
14 publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
15 (4) A residential telephone subscriber's name shall be
16 maintained on the list under paragraph (1) as long as the
17 telephone number is valid for the subscriber.
18 (5) The Office of Attorney General may serve as the list
19 administrator for purposes of this subsection.
20 (6) If the Office of Attorney General does not serve as
21 the list administrator for purposes of this subsection, the
22 list administrator shall provide the list under paragraph (1)
23 to the Office of Attorney General on a biannual basis.
24 (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to a call
25 on behalf of a political candidate, political party or political
26 body made by an individual and not by an automatic dialing-
27 announcing device.
28 (c) Listings.--A person that makes automatic political calls
29 shall:
30 (1) obtain on a biannual basis a listing of residential
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1 or wireless telephone subscribers in this Commonwealth who
2 have arranged to have their names, addresses and telephone
3 numbers enrolled on the list under subsection (a)(1); or
4 (2) use a service provider to obtain the list under
5 subsection (a)(1) in order to restrict the use of automatic
6 political calls.
7 (d) Fee limitation.--A list administrator may not impose a
8 fee for a copy of the list under subsection (a)(1) which
9 exceeds:
10 (1) the cost incurred by the list administrator in the
11 production, preparation and distribution of the list; or
12 (2) the fee authorized by 16 CFR § 310.8(c) (relating to
13 fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry).
14 (e) Restriction.--A person may not use the list under
15 subsection (a)(1) for any purpose other than to remove a
16 residential or wireless telephone subscriber from the list.
17 (f) Investigation, enforcement and reporting.--
18 Investigation, enforcement and reporting shall be conducted in
19 accordance with section 5.2(k).
20 (g) Violation.--
21 (1) A violation of this section shall be a violation
22 under section 6.
23 (2) A violation of this section shall constitute an
24 unlawful act under section 3 of the act of December 17, 1968
25 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and
26 Consumer Protection Law.
27 Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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