Texas Gets Tough on Telemarketing
TWO IDENTICAL telemarketing bills have been proposed in the Texas House and Senate, addressing several aspects of telephone soliciting. Most importantly, they establish a statewide do-not-call list and change the requirements for telemarketers to register with the state. Also covered are calling hours, the use of automatic dialing announcing devices and requirements for telemarketers to identify themselves.
Introduced in January, House Bill 537 was authored by Rep. Debra Danburg (D-Houston), while Senate Bill 120 was authored by Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin).
The do-not-call list, or “no-call list” in the Texas parlance, is to be maintained by the state Public Utility Commission. Consumers can sign up for free but must do so annually. Telemarketers that call those listed face a penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation.
The bills also eliminate many of the exemptions from the state’s registration guidelines for telemarketers, while at the same time simplify the information required.
In December the Texas House telemarketing subcommittee-which made recommendations similar to those contained in the recently presented legislation-determined that the myriad exemptions and data requirements contributed to the fact that, as of January 1998, only 24 telephone solicitors had registered. The subcommittee’s report also recommended raising the bond requirement of $10,000, but the bill maintains the original amount.
Direct Marketing Association spokesman Chet Dalzell says the industry does not oppose registration requirements, but that the do-not-call list was superfluous because of federal law that already mandates companies to maintain such lists.
Dalzell says that Texas is a big telemarketing state. According to a DMA-sponsored study by The WEFA Group, “Texas-based businesses use telemarketing to generate $35 billion in goods and services annually,” he added.
The subcommittee report said the DMA’s Telephone Preference List was inadequate because relatively few telemarketers-and even fewer fraudulent ones-belong to the DMA.
