Massachusetts is on the way toward joining 30 other states with a telemarketing do-not-call list.
Thursday, as lawmakers in New Jersey and North Carolina were considering bills creating such programs in their states, the commerce committee of the House of Representatives cleared the way for next week’s vote by the full House on HB-234. That measure would authorize the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office to create the list.
Although the measure, sponsored by Democrat Rep. William Straus, is expected to sail through the House, its future in the state senate remains in doubt.
With the current legislative session scheduled to end on July 31, some senators are expressing concern about a potential loophole in the House bill that would permit telemarketers in business less than one year to call people on the list.
One of those senators, Democrat Cheryl Jacques, is leading a drive to either eliminate that provision or delay its implementation by several months as a way of helping a new companies.
Both Jacques and Senate President Thomas Birmingham predicted that the measure would win Senate approval. If it does, Gov. Jane Swift said she would sign it into law so it could go into effect on Jan. 1.
Under the bill residents would be initially charged $5 to place their names and telephone numbers, including those of cell phones, mobile phones and telephonic paging devices on the list for one year. It also provides for an annual renewal fee of $3.
Telemarketers would be required to purchase a copy of the list from the Secretary of State’s office at a fee yet to be determined. The fees would be used to offset the cost of operating and maintaining the list according to the bill.
Those telemarketers calling people on the do-not-call list face civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.
The legislation also directs telephone companies to include information about the do-not-call list program once a year in their billing statements and to include “conspicuous” notices about it in their directories.
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