Senate Bill Re-authorizes Do-not-Call Registry Fees
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has unanimously reported out a bill that will extend the financial underpinnings of the federal Do Not Call Registry.
Introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and co-sponsored by Commerce Committee chairman Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the bill re-authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to collect fees from telemarketers who must check their call lists against the rosters of consumers who have asked not to be called.
The FTC has entered more than 130 million phone numbers into the registry since its inception in 2003. Its fee-collection authority is now set to expire at the end of fiscal 2007.
“The FTC’s Do-Not-Call Registry is one of the Commission’s most successful endeavors,” Stevens said in a release. “The registry has dramatically limited the number of unwanted calls to consumers and assisted the FTC in preventing telemarketing fraud and abuse.”
The Direct Marketing Association on Friday expressed support for the extension contained in the bill, and in particular for provisions for a maximum cap on fees charged telemarketers. The bill would cap those fees at $54 for each area code, or a national maximum of $14,850. That would represent a reduction from the current maximum access fee of $17,050.
The bill would also tie future fee increases to changes in the Consumer Price Index. It would continue the current practice of letting marketers access five area codes’ worth of data at no charge.
“We are particularly happy that the Committee members responded to our concerns about the dramatic fee increases that many businesses have been subjected to,” said Jerry Cerasale, DMA vice president for government affairs and corporate responsibility.
Registrations on the federal Do Not Call list are in effect for five years, so the FTC is reportedly planning a spring 2008 outreach campaign to get enrollees to refresh their standing.
Several state Do Not Call registries predated the federal roster and also carry five-year expirations. Attorneys general in Pennsylvania and Kansas, among other states, last week launched initiatives to get consumers to renew their registrations by September to avoid a resumption of telemarketing calls.
