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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY MARSHALL, BOYD, CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL, CAUSER, CHRISTIANA, COHEN, D. COSTA, P. COSTA, COX, CUTLER, DALEY, DAY, DeLUCA, DePASQUALE, DONATUCCI, DUNBAR, GEORGE, GERBER, GIBBONS, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, HARHAI, HARRIS, HENNESSEY, JOSEPHS, KAVULICH, W. KELLER, KILLION, KNOWLES, KOTIK, KRIEGER, KULA, MARSICO, MASSER, MATZIE, McGEEHAN, MILLER, MOUL, MULLERY, M. O'BRIEN, PETRARCA, PYLE, QUIGLEY, RAPP, READSHAW, ROAE, ROCK, SAINATO, SAYLOR, K. SMITH, SONNEY, STERN, TALLMAN, TAYLOR, THOMAS, TRUITT AND VULAKOVICH, MAY 12, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 12, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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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 |
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1 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
2 | "Automatic dialing-announcing device." A device that selects |
3 | and dials telephone numbers and that, working alone or in |
4 | conjunction with other equipment, disseminates a prerecorded or |
5 | synthesized voice message to the telephone number called. |
6 | "Automatic political call." The use of an automatic dialing- |
7 | announcing device on behalf of any of the following: |
8 | (1) A candidate as defined in section 102(a) of the act |
9 | of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania |
10 | Election Code; a party as defined in section 102(n) of the |
11 | Pennsylvania Election Code; or a political body as defined in |
12 | section 102(p) of the Pennsylvania Election Code. |
13 | (2) A political committee as defined in section 1621(h) |
14 | of the Pennsylvania Election Code. |
15 | (3) A political organization as defined in section |
16 | 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law |
17 | 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.). |
18 | * * * |
19 | "List administrator." [A nonprofit] An organization, as |
20 | designated by contract entered into by the Director of the |
21 | Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General, |
22 | that accepts individual names, addresses and telephone numbers |
23 | of persons who do not wish to receive telephone solicitation |
24 | calls and that has been in existence for ten or more years. In |
25 | the event that the Federal Trade Commission and/or Federal |
26 | Communications Commission establish a unified national No Call |
27 | Registry for the purpose of providing consumers with protection |
28 | from receiving unwanted telephone solicitation calls similar to |
29 | the protection provided in this act, then the Director of the |
30 | Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General |
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1 | may enter into an agreement to utilize the services of the |
2 | administrator of any such national No Call Registry in lieu of |
3 | using [any nonprofit] an organization. |
4 | * * * |
5 | Section 2. Section 3 of the act is amended to read: |
6 | Section 3. Registration requirement. |
7 | (a) General rule.--In addition to any other requirements |
8 | imposed by law, a telemarketer or the telemarketing business |
9 | which employs the telemarketer is required to register with the |
10 | Office of Attorney General at least 30 days prior to offering |
11 | for sale consumer goods or services through any medium. This |
12 | section will not apply, however, to persons or businesses |
13 | licensed by or registered with a Federal or Commonwealth agency |
14 | or to a person or business conducting telemarketing exclusively |
15 | through the use of automatic political calls. Notwithstanding |
16 | any other provision of this act, any business which provides |
17 | telemarketing services to other entities and has been under the |
18 | same ownership and control for less than five years shall |
19 | register under this section. |
20 | (b) Unlawful conduct.--It shall be unlawful for any |
21 | telemarketer to initiate a telephone call to or receive a |
22 | telephone call from a consumer in connection with the purchase |
23 | of consumer goods or services unless the telemarketer or the |
24 | telemarketing business which employs the telemarketer is |
25 | registered with the Office of Attorney General. |
26 | (c) Penalty.--Failure to register as required by this act |
27 | constitutes a misdemeanor of the second degree. |
28 | Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read: |
29 | Section 5.3. Unwanted automatic political calls. |
30 | (a) General rule.-- |
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1 | (1) Except as set forth in subsection (b), beginning 30 |
2 | days after publication of the notice under paragraph (3), a |
3 | person may not initiate or cause to be initiated an automatic |
4 | political call to a residential or wireless telephone number |
5 | of a telephone subscriber who does not wish to receive |
6 | automatic political calls and has caused the subscriber's |
7 | name, address and telephone number to be enrolled on a do- |
8 | not-call list for automatic political calls maintained by a |
9 | list administrator. |
10 | (2) The list under paragraph (1) shall be developed and |
11 | maintained separately from the list established under section |
12 | 5.2. |
13 | (3) The list under paragraph (1) shall be completed six |
14 | months after the effective date of this section. The list |
15 | administrator shall transmit a notice of completion to the |
16 | Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the |
17 | Pennsylvania Bulletin. |
18 | (4) A residential telephone subscriber's name shall be |
19 | maintained on the list under paragraph (1) as long as the |
20 | telephone number is valid for the subscriber. |
21 | (5) The Office of Attorney General may serve as the list |
22 | administrator for purposes of this subsection. |
23 | (6) If the Office of Attorney General does not serve as |
24 | the list administrator for purposes of this subsection, the |
25 | list administrator shall provide the list under paragraph (1) |
26 | to the Office of Attorney General on a biannual basis. |
27 | (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to a call |
28 | on behalf of a political candidate, political party or political |
29 | body made by an individual and not by an automatic dialing- |
30 | announcing device. |
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1 | (c) Listings.--A person that makes automatic political calls |
2 | shall: |
3 | (1) obtain on a biannual basis a listing of residential |
4 | or wireless telephone subscribers in this Commonwealth who |
5 | have arranged to have their names, addresses and telephone |
6 | numbers enrolled on the list under subsection (a)(1); or |
7 | (2) use a service provider who has obtained the list |
8 | under subsection (a)(1) in order to restrict the use of |
9 | automatic political calls. |
10 | (d) Fee limitation.--A list administrator may not impose a |
11 | fee for a copy of the list under subsection (a)(1) which |
12 | exceeds: |
13 | (1) the cost incurred by the list administrator in the |
14 | production, preparation and distribution of the list; or |
15 | (2) the fee authorized by 16 CFR § 310.8(c) (relating to |
16 | fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry). |
17 | (e) Restriction.--A person may not use the list under |
18 | subsection (a)(1) for any purpose other than to remove a |
19 | residential or wireless telephone subscriber from a call list. |
20 | (f) Investigation, enforcement and reporting.-- |
21 | Investigation, enforcement and reporting shall be conducted in |
22 | accordance with section 5.2(k). |
23 | (g) Violation.--A violation of this section shall constitute |
24 | an 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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