State Telemarketing Legislation Round-Up

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 holding in Facebook v. Duguid, many states are updating state-specific telemarketing legislation. The most notable developments are listed below and will be updated as further developments occur.

Florida House Bill 761

Status: Signed into law and effective immediately.

• Includes examples of ways to obtain prior express written consent, which may include checking a box online or sending an inbound text in response to a call-to-action where the consumer must affirmatively respond.
• Narrows the automated system rules to apply only:
  • If the system involves automated selection and dialing; and
  • Constitute unsolicited telephonic sales calls (Note: this excludes calls where there is an existing business relationship with the consumer).
• Requires STOP request before one can sue for text messages.
• Amendments apply to any suit and to any class action not yet certified.

Maryland House Bill 37 / Senate Bill 90

Status: Signed into law with effective date of 1/1/2024.

• Requires prior express written consent to make calls using “automated systems for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers.”
• Aligns with pre-HB 761 Florida law with the exception that it provides additional exemptions.
• Restricts:
  • Caller ID spoofing;
  • Permissible calling times; and
  • Call volume (three calls per 24 hours).

New Jersey Senate Bill 921

Status: Signed into law with effective date of 12/1/2023.

• Requires telemarketers to:
  1. Disclose the name and telephone number of the entity on whose behalf they called within 30 seconds of the call; and
  2. List their mailing address and the mailing address of the company on whose behalf they conduct telemarketing on their website and any subsequent written communication to a customer.
• Exempts from certain requirements residential marketing calls made in response to a customer’s affirmative request for a follow-up telemarketing sales call or other contact from the telemarketer during a prior phone call or contact with the telemarketer’s website.

Tennessee Senate Bill 868

Status: Signed into law with effective date of 7/1/2023.

• Extends telemarketing laws to text messages.

Washington House Bill 1051

Status: Signed into law with effective date of 7/23/2023.

• Expands:
  • Prerecorded message rules to expressly cover ringless voicemail; and
  • The scope of telemarketing laws to expressly cover calls made to wrongfully obtain something of value.
• Provides:
  • Assisting and facilitating liability for telemarketing law violations;
  • Safe harbor for telecommunications providers that implement reasonable robocall mitigation plans; and
  • Private right-of-action with statutory damages of $1,000 per violation (violations are also UDAP violations under the state’s consumer protection law).
• Indicates that violations of Federal Do Not Call registry and caller ID rules are state law violations.
• Deletes telemarketing registration exemption for entities making less than 60% of their prior year’s sales via telemarketing.

It is imperative for businesses that utilize telemarketing to stay up-to-date on federal and state-specific legislation to avoid costly penalties. Mac Murray & Shuster is actively tracking pending legislation and can help you identify any changes necessary to keep your telemarketing programs compliant.

Wondering how this legislation impacts your business? Contact us for more information.

*Jennifer Tran contributed to this article