SB 0311

AN ACT establishing a no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry.

SPONSORS: Sen. Wheeler, Dist 21; Sen. Cohen, Dist 24; Sen. Pignatelli, Dist 13; Sen. Below, Dist 5; Sen. Fernald, Dist 11; Rep. French, Merr 3

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Use of Automatic Telephone Dialing Systems; Chapter Title Amended and Subdivision Heading Inserted. Amend RSA 359-E to read as follows:

[~~USE OF AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE DIALING SYSTEMS AND CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICES~~]

2 New Subdivision; No Telemarketing Sales Calls Statewide Registry. Amend RSA 359-E by inserting after section 6 the following new subdivision:

I. "Bureau" means the consumer protection bureau of the office of the attorney general.

II. "Customer" means any natural person who is a resident of this state and who is or may be required to pay for or to exchange consideration for goods and services offered through telemarketing.

III. "Doing business in this state" means conducting telephonic sales calls from a location:

IV. "Goods and services" means any goods and services, and shall include any real property or any tangible personal property or services of any kind.

V. "Person" means any natural person, association, partnership, firm, corporation and its affiliates or subsidiaries or other business entity.

VI. "Telemarketer" means any person who, for financial profit or commercial purposes in connection with telemarketing, makes 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. For the purposes of this subdivision, "commercial purposes" shall mean the sale or offer for sale of goods or services.

VII. "Telemarketing" means any plan, program, or campaign which is conducted to induce payment or the exchange of any other consideration for any goods or services by use of one or more telephones and which involves more than one telephone call by a telemarketer in which the customer is located within the state at the time of the call. Telemarketing does not include the solicitation of sales through media other than by telephone calls.

VIII. "Telemarketing sales call" means a telephone call made by a telemarketer to a customer for the purpose of inducing payment or the exchange of any other consideration for any goods or services.

IX. "Unsolicited telemarketing sales call" means any telemarketing sales call other than a call made:

(b) In connection with an established business relationship, which has not been terminated by either party;

(c) To an existing customer, unless such customer has stated to the telemarketer that such customer no longer wishes to receive the telemarketing sales calls of such telemarketer; or

(d) In which the sale of goods and services is not completed, and payment or authorization of payment is not required, until after a face-to-face sales presentation by the telemarketer or a meeting between the telemarketer and customer.

359-E:8 Registry Established. The bureau shall establish and maintain a no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry which shall contain a list of customers who do not wish to receive unsolicited telemarketing sales calls. The bureau may contract with a private vendor to establish and maintain such registry, provided the private vendor has maintained national no telemarketing sales calls registries for more than 2 years, and the contract requires the vendor to provide the no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry in a printed hard copy format and in any other format as prescribed by the bureau.

359-E:9 Prohibition on Unsolicited Calls. No telemarketer or seller may make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any customer more than 30 days after the customer's name and telephone number or numbers appear on the then current quarterly no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry made available by the bureau pursuant to RSA 359-E:8.

I. The bureau shall provide notice to customers of the establishment of the no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry. Any customer who wishes to be included on such registry shall notify the bureau by calling a toll-free number provided by the bureau, or in any other such manner and at such times as the bureau may prescribe which may include notification via the Internet. A customer on such registry shall be deleted from such registry upon the customer's written request.

II. The bureau shall update such registry not less than quarterly and shall make such registry available to telemarketers for a fee as the bureau shall prescribe.

III. Any company that provides local telephone directories to customers in this state shall inform its customers of the provisions of this subdivision by means of publishing a notice in such local telephone directories.

359-E:11 Rulemaking. The attorney general shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the implementation and administration of the no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry.

I. Where it is determined after hearing that any person has violated one or more provisions of this subdivision, the attorney general, or any person deputized or so designated by the attorney general may assess a fine not to exceed $2000 for each violation.

II. Any proceeding conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject to RSA 541-A.

III. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to restrict any right which any person may have under any other statute or at common law.

359-E:13 Enforcement; Criteria for Violation. A person shall not be held liable for violating this subdivision if:

I. The person has obtained a copy of and updated, quarterly, the no telemarketing sales calls statewide registry and has established and implemented written policies and procedures related to the requirements of this subdivision;

II. The person has trained his or her personnel in the requirements of this subdivision;

III. The person maintains records demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this section; and

The Department of Justice states this bill will increase state expenditures by $66,500 in FY 2003, $43,500 in FY 2004, $44,500 in FY 2005, and $45,500 in FY 2006. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

The Department states this bill will result in additional costs for personnel, equipment, advertising, telephone, and supplies in FY 2003. In FY 2004 and each year thereafter, costs will include personnel, telephone, and supplies only. None of the additional costs can be absorbed within the agency's existing budget. Additional costs are as follows:

Additional Costs FY 2003 FY 2004

Personnel (1.5 Full Time Equivalent) $30,000 $40,000

Equipment 8,500 0

Supplies/Telephone 3,000 3,500

Advertising 25,000 0

Total $66,500 $43,500

The Department estimates these costs will increase by $1,000 per year in FY 2005 and FY 2006.