STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8770
IN SENATE
July 15, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to including elec-
tronic messaging texts as a form of telemarketing communication
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs h, i, j, k, l and m of subdivision 1 of section
2 399-z of the general business law, as amended by chapter 369 of the laws
3 of 2012 and paragraph k as amended and paragraphs l and m of subdivision
4 1 as added by chapter 484 of the laws of 2016, are amended and a new
5 paragraph n is added to read as follows:
6 h. "Telemarketer" means any person who, for financial profit or
7 commercial purposes in connection with telemarketing, makes telemarket-
8 ing sales calls or electronic messaging texts to a customer when the
9 customer is in this state or any person who directly controls or super-
10 vises the conduct of a telemarketer. For the purposes of this section,
11 "commercial purposes" shall mean the sale or offer for sale of goods or
12 services;
13 i. "Telemarketing" means any plan, program or campaign that is
14 conducted to induce payment or the exchange of any other consideration
15 for any goods or services that involves more than one telephone call or
16 electronic messaging text by a telemarketer in which the customer is
17 located within the state at the time of the call. Telemarketing does not
18 include the solicitation of sales through media other than by telephone
19 calls or electronic messaging texts and does not include calls or elec-
20 tronic messaging texts intended to implement or complete a transaction
21 to which the customer has previously consented;
22 j. "Telemarketing sales call" means a telephone call or electronic
23 messaging text made directly or indirectly by a telemarketer or by any
24 outbound telephone calling technology that delivers a prerecorded
25 message to a customer or to a customer's voicemail or answering machine
26 service, in which such telephone call or electronic messaging text is
27 for the purpose of inducing payment or the exchange of any other consid-
28 eration for any goods or services;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15717-01-0
S. 8770 2
1 k. "Unsolicited telemarketing sales call" means any telemarketing
2 sales call or electronic messaging text other than [a call made]:
3 (i) in response to an express written or verbal request by the custom-
4 er; or
5 (ii) in connection with an established business relationship, which
6 has not been terminated by either party, unless such customer has stated
7 to the telemarketer that such customer no longer wishes to receive the
8 telemarketing sales calls of such telemarketer;
9 l. "Caller identification information" means information provided by a
10 caller identification service regarding the telephone number and name of
11 the person calling; [and]
12 m. "Caller identification service" means a service that allows a tele-
13 phone subscriber to have the telephone number, and, where available,
14 name of the calling party transmitted contemporaneously with the tele-
15 phone call, and displayed on a device in or connected to the subscrib-
16 er's telephone[.]; and
17 n. "Electronic messaging text" means real-time or near real-time non-
18 voice messages in text form over communications networks, and includes
19 the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds of all
20 kinds by aid of wire, cable or other like connection between the points
21 of origin and reception of such transmission.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
23 have become a law.