Calling Capitol Hill
With the 1999 legislative season in full swing, lawmakers in 18 states are considering legislation requiring telemarketers to maintain do-not-call lists for their respective states.
The pending bills are in: Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas and West Virginia.
Lawmakers in Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Montana and West Virginia are also weighing separate proposals requiring telemarketers to register with various state agencies before making calls into any of those states.
Similar registration laws are being considered in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
The Direct Marketing Association has not taken a formal position on any of the measures since their introduction, says Richard A. Barton, senior vice president, Congressional matters.
“We’re studying each of the bills to determine their individual and collective impact on telemarketers and the entire direct marketing industry,” he notes.
Barton says many marketers- including catalogers-use outbound calls to reach existing customers with a variety of offers, in addition to relying on inbound customer calls for orders and inquiries.
