Bill Text: NJ A1446 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits telemarketers from making certain unsolicited telemarketing sales calls.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee [A1446 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1446-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman BETTYLOU DECROCE
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits telemarketers from making certain unsolicited telemarketing sales calls.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act prohibiting telemarketers from making certain unsolicited telemarketing sales calls and amending P.L.2003, c.76.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2003, c.76 (C.56:8-120) is amended to read as follows:
2. As used in [this act] P.L.2003, c.76 (C.56:8-119 et seq.):
"Autodialed telephone call" means:
a. a telephone call made using equipment that makes a series of telephone calls to stored telephone numbers, including telephone numbers stored on a list, or to telephone numbers produced using a random or sequential telephone number generator, except that the term does not include a telephone call made using only equipment that the caller demonstrates requires substantial additional human intervention to dial or place a telephone call after a human initiates the telephone call or series of telephone calls; or
b. a telephone call made using an artificial or prerecorded voice message.
"Customer" means an individual who is a resident of this State and a prospective recipient of a telemarketing sales call.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Division" means the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Local exchange telephone company" means a telecommunications carrier authorized by the Board of Public Utilities to provide local telecommunications services.
"Merchandise" means merchandise as defined in subsection (c) of section 1 of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1), including an extension of credit.
"No telemarketing call list" or "no call list" means a list of telephone numbers of customers in this State who desire not to receive unsolicited telemarketing sales calls whether the telemarketer is a human initiating an unsolicited telemarketing sales call or the telemarketer uses another means of making an unsolicited telemarketing sales call, including, but not limited to, making an autodialed telephone call.
"Telemarketer" means any entity, whether an individual proprietor, corporation, partnership, limited liability corporation, or any other form of business organization, whether on behalf of itself or others, who makes residential telemarketing sales calls to a customer when the customer is in this State or any person who directly controls or supervises the conduct of a telemarketer.
"Telemarketing" means any plan, program, or campaign which is conducted by telephone to encourage the purchase or rental of, or investment in, merchandise, but does not include the solicitation of sales through media other than a telephone call.
"Telemarketing sales call" means a telephone call, including an autodialed telephone call, made by a telemarketer to a customer as part of a plan, program, or campaign to encourage the purchase or rental of, or investment in, merchandise, except for continuing services. A telephone call made to an existing customer for the sole purpose of collecting on accounts or following up on contractual obligations shall not be deemed a telemarketing sales call.
"Telephone call mitigation technology" means technology that identifies an incoming telephone call as being, or as likely being, an autodialed telephone call and blocks the telephone call, diverts the telephone call to the called person's answering system, or otherwise prevents the telephone call from being completed to the called person, except that the technology permits a telephone call so identified to be completed when the telephone call is identified as being made by a law enforcement or public safety entity, or when the telephone call is identified as originating from a caller with respect to whom the called person has provided prior express consent to receive a telephone call and has not revoked that consent.
"Unsolicited telemarketing sales call" means any telemarketing sales call other than a call made:
[(1)] a. in response to an express written request of the customer called; or
[(2)] b. to an existing customer, which shall include the ability to collect on accounts and follow up on contractual obligations, unless the customer has stated to the telemarketer that the customer no longer desires to receive the telemarketing sales calls of the telemarketer.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.208, s.1)
2. Section 10 of P.L.2003, c.76 (C.56:8-128) is amended to read as follows:
10. a. [No] A telemarketer shall not make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any customer whose telephone number is included on the no telemarketing call list established pursuant to section 9 of [this act] P.L.2003, c.76 (C.56:8-127), except for a telephone call made within three months of the date the customer's telephone number was first included on the no call list but only if the telemarketer had at the time of the telephone call not yet obtained a no call list which included the customer's telephone number and the no call list used by the telemarketer was issued less than three months prior to the time the telephone call was made.
b. A telemarketer making a telemarketing sales call shall, within the first 30 seconds of the telephone call, accurately identify the telemarketer's name, the person on whose behalf the telephone call is being made, and the purpose of the telephone call.
c. A telemarketer shall not make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any customer between the hours of [9] 9:00 p.m. and [8] 8:00 a.m., local time, at the customer's location.
d. (1) A telemarketer shall not intentionally use any method that blocks a caller identification service from displaying caller identification information or otherwise circumvents a customer's use of a telephone caller identification service, including, but not limited to, the use of any technology or method which displays a telephone number or name not associated with the telemarketer or intentionally designed to misrepresent the telemarketer's identity.
(2) A telemarketer shall not intentionally use any method that prevents a customer from using any telephone call mitigation technology.
e. If a customer terminates a telephone call within five seconds of receiving an unsolicited telemarketing sales call, a telemarketer shall not make another unsolicited telemarketing sales call to a telephone number associated with that customer.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.289, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a telemarketer from making an "autodialed telephone call," as that term is used in the bill, as an unsolicited telemarketing sales call to a customer on the State's no telemarketing call list. The bill also prohibits a telemarketer from employing any technology that prevents a customer from using a "telephone call mitigation technology," as that term is used in the bill, to block the completion of an "autodialed telephone call." The bill provides that if a customer terminates a telephone call within five seconds of receiving an unsolicited telemarketing sales call, a telemarketer is not to make another unsolicited telemarketing sales call to a telephone number associated with that customer.
The bill amends existing law to prevent telemarketers from using technology to circumvent the State's law regarding telemarketing calls and the State's no telemarketing call list.
