Colorado Lawmaker Wants Do Not Mail Registry
Colorado residents who want to stop receiving unrequested direct mail may get the option to sign up for a state “Do Not Mail” list if a bill slated for proposal in that state’s legislature gains final passage.
The measure, expected to be introduced by Rep. Sara Gagliardi (Dem.), will resemble the Do Not Call registry now at work in Colorado and most other states. Residents would enroll via a toll-free number or a Web site. Companies that planned to send unsolicited mail into the state would have to buy the current list and check their mailing lists against it before sending mail pieces, with substantial fines for mailing to residents who had opted out of unpermissioned mailings.
The list would not cover non-profit organizations, political candidates or companies with whom consumers had a recent commercial relationship.
Apart from reducing the annoyance of unwanted mail material, Gagliardi told the press her proposal would offer both the environmental benefit of reduced paper use and a lower incidence of identity theft because of the reduction in unsolicited financial applications.
A bill recently introduced before the Texas legislature would establish a Do Not Mail registry that would apply to credit card and loan applications, sweepstakes promotions that use consumer information, and many other mailings that use personally identifiable data to sell property, goods or services.
Zedler’s bill would let consumers sign on to registry for three years for a fee of $3 per household. Companies mailing to names on the Texas Do Not Mail list would incur fines of $1,000 to $3,000 per violation.
