The Kentucky State Senate has approved a bill imposing new limits on telemarketers that is more restrictive than the one adopted last month by the state House of Representatives.
The measure approved by the Senate would limit telemarketing calls from charitable, nonprofit organizations, political groups and telecommunications companies to individual households, but not to businesses. The original House-approved measure had fewer limitations.
Besides the call limits, the Senate version of the bill would raise the penalty for violators to $5,000. The House version of the measure would only subject errant telemarketers to misdemeanor penalties, fines of up to $500.
The Senate-approved measure (HB-47) which must be ratified by the House before Gov. Paul Patton could sign it into law.
Amid indications that the House will go along with the Senate version of the bill, its leaders, such as Democratic Speaker Jody Richards, majority floor leader Gregory Stumbo and Republican minority leader Jeffrey Hoover, would not say when the ratification vote would be held.
Both measures, however, would authorize Kentucky residents to have their names placed on a “zero-call list,” a list maintained by the state attorney general’s office of people who do not want to receive cold or unsolicited telemarketing calls.
They would also allow telemarketers to call people with whom they have an existing business relationship with or where the calls have been previously authorized.
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