Pennsylvania is on the way to becoming the 27th state to develop and maintain its own telemarketing do-not-call list, ignoring plans by the Federal Trade Commission to develop a national list.
State lawmakers overwhelmingly approved House Bill 1469 Wednesday authorizing the creation of a statewide do-not call list.
The list would be developed and maintained by the state attorney general’s office.
In January, the FTC proposed amending its Telemarketing Sales Rule to create a national do-not-call list. If and when it does, the FTC said its list would include any and all state-maintained lists.
Gov. Mark Schweiker is expected to sign the measure amending the state’s six year-old Telemarketer Registration Act into law by the middle of next month.
Sixty days after the measure is signed into law, Pennsylvanians will be able to place their names and home telephone numbers on the do-not-call list for five years without charge. The list would be updated quarterly.
While their names may be on this list, Pennsylvanians would still be able to receive calls from charitable, nonprofit and political organizations as well as from telemarketers with whom they have an existing business relationship.
Telemarketers based both in and out of the state that call Pennsylvanians will be required to buy copies of the do-not-call list from the attorney general’s office for a nominal fee. The measure also prohibits telemarketers from intentionally blocking a consumers caller identification system.
Violators would face civil penalties of $1,000 per violation and $3,000 for each violation involving a person over the age of 60.
Attorney General Mike Fisher said while the measure provides Pennsylvanians with a way of avoiding unwanted telemarketing calls it will also alert them “to potential telemarketing fraud if they receive unsolicited calls once they are placed on the statewide do-not-call list.”
Meantime, the FTC, which has been soliciting public comment on its proposed national do-not-call list, said it was extending the comment period by two weeks to April 15.
