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PRINTER'S NO. 275
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
318
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY MIZGORSKI, PICKETT, McNEILL, COX, MURT, STEPHENS,
SCHROEDER, MACKENZIE, PYLE, ISAACSON, B. MILLER, SCHLOSSBERG,
HAHN, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, ROTHMAN AND READSHAW,
FEBRUARY 1, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FEBRUARY 1, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of December 4, 1996 (P.L.911, No.147), entitled
"An act providing for registration requirements for
telemarketers and for powers and duties of the Office of
Attorney General," further providing for definitions, for
unlawful acts and penalties and for unwanted telephone
solicitation calls prohibited.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 2 of the act of December 4, 1996
(P.L.911, No.147), known as the Telemarketer Registration Act,
is amended by adding a definition to read:
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
* * *
"Robocall." A telephone solicitation call made to a large
number of people, using a computerized autodialer, to deliver a
prerecorded telemarketing message.
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* * *
Section 2. Section 5(a)(2) of the act is amended and the
subsection is amended by adding a paragraph to read:
Section 5. Unlawful acts and penalties.
(a) Acts enumerated.--The following acts are prohibited:
* * *
(2) Initiating an outbound telephone call, including a
robocall, to a person when that person previously has stated
that he or she does not wish to receive an outbound telephone
call made by or on behalf of the seller whose goods or
services are being offered. A seller or telemarketer will not
be liable for violating the provisions of this paragraph if:
(i) he has established and implemented written
procedures to comply with this paragraph;
(ii) he has trained his personnel in the procedures;
(iii) the seller or the telemarketer acting on
behalf of the seller has maintained and recorded lists of
persons who may not be contacted; and
(iv) any subsequent call is the result of error.
* * *
(10) Making a telephone solicitation call on a legal
holiday.
* * *
Section 3. Section 5.2(c) and (j) of the act are amended and
the section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 5.2. Unwanted telephone solicitation calls prohibited.
* * *
(c) Duration.--A listing on a do-not-call list shall be
maintained [for a minimum of five years from the date of the
enrollment or] until the telephone number is no longer valid for
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the residential or wireless telephone subscriber[, whichever
occurs first] or until the subscriber requests to have the
telephone number removed from the list.
* * *
(j) Identification.--No telemarketer shall fail to provide a
residential or wireless telephone subscriber with the name of
the caller, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the
call is being made and, upon request, a telephone number or
address at which the person or entity may be contacted. If a
telemarketer makes a solicitation using [an artificial or
prerecorded voice message transmitted by an autodialer or
prerecorded message player which placed the telephone
solicitation call] a robocall, the telephone number may not be a
900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or
long-distance transmission charges.
* * *
(l) Robocall requirements.--
(1) A telemarketer or telemarketing business that uses
robocalls:
(i) Shall establish a procedure, consistent with the
requirements under subparagraph (ii), for a called person
to opt out of receiving future telephone solicitation
calls from that telemarketer or telemarketing business
and be immediately taken off the telemarketer ' s call
list.
(ii) Shall provide notice to a called number, at the
beginning of the call, stating how a called person can
opt out of receiving future telephone solicitation calls
from that telemarketer or telemarketing business.
Immediate opt out shall be available through an
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automated, interactive voice-activated or key-press-
activated opt-out mechanism for the called person to make
a do-not-call request, including brief explanatory
instructions on how to use the opt-out mechanism, within
two seconds of disclosing the name of the caller and the
name of the person or entity on whose behalf the call is
being made. The called person shall be able to opt out
throughout the duration of the call.
(iii) May not require a called person's written
consent as a condition to opt out of future telemarketing
calls.
(iv) May not consider the action of opting out as
the creation of an established business relationship.
(2) When a robocall is left on an answering machine or a
voicemail service, the message must provide a toll-free
telephone number that enables the called person to call back
at a later time and connect directly to the automated,
interactive voice-activated or key-press-activated opt-out
mechanism and automatically record the called person's number
to the do-not-call list of the telemarketer or telemarketing
business.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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