Bill Text: MS HB48 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Mississippi Telephone Solicitation Act; provide further restrictions on those soliciting consumers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-02-05 - Died In Committee [HB48 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-HB48-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Public Utilities
By: Representative Lane
House Bill 48
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 77-3-703, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY WHAT CONSUMERS ARE PROTECTED UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI TELEPHONE SOLICITATION ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 77-3-723, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE TIME THAT TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS MAY BE MADE UNDER THE ACT; TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF VOICE RECORDED MESSAGES BY TELEPHONE SOLICITORS WHEN SOLICITING CONSUMERS; TO PROVIDE THAT IF TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS ARE NOT ANSWERED OR RETURNED BY CONSUMERS THEN TELEPHONE SOLICITORS ARE PROHIBITED FROM CALLING CERTAIN CONSUMERS AT ANY FUTURE TIME; TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN SOLICITATIONS ARE MADE TO CONSUMERS, NO FALSE INFORMATION MAY BE ENTERED INTO THE CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICES OF THE CONSUMERS; FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 77-3-703, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-3-703. (1) The use of the telephone to make all types of solicitations to consumers is pervasive. This article gives consumers a tool by which to object to telemarketing calls as these communications can amount to a nuisance, an invasion of privacy, and can create a health and safety risk for certain consumers, such as the elderly and those living at or below poverty level, who maintain their phone service primarily for emergency medical situations.
(2) Any calls made for
political purposes shall be governed by Section 23-15-875.
SECTION 2. Section 77-3-723, Mississippi Code of 1972, is
amended as follows:
77-3-723. (1) Any person
or entity who makes an authorized telephone solicitation to a consumer in this
state shall announce clearly, at the beginning of each call, his or her name,
the company he or she represents and the purpose of the call. Such calls may
only be made between the hours of * * * 2:00 p.m. and * * *
4:00 p.m. Central
Standard Time. No telephone solicitations may be made on a Sunday. For
purposes of this provision, an "authorized telephone solicitation"
means a solicitation that is made: (a) to a consumer who is not listed on the
most current "no-calls" database; (b) by a telephone solicitor who
has been authorized to make such solicitations under the provisions of Section
77-3-709; or (c) by a telephone solicitor who is exempt from this article under
the provisions of Section 77-3-711.
(2) (a) A person or
entity who makes a telephone solicitation to a consumer in this state may not
utilize knowingly any method that blocks or otherwise circumvents the
consumer's use of a caller identification service, nor may the person or entity
use an automated dialing system or any like system that uses a recorded voice
message to communicate with the consumer * * *.
(b) If a telephone solicitation to a consumer is not answered by the consumer or the consumer does not return the call to the telephone solicitor then such solicitor is prohibited from calling the consumer at any future time. The prohibition prescribed under this paragraph shall not apply to the person or entity who makes a telephone solicitation to a consumer who has an established business relationship with such person or entity.
(3) (a) A telephone solicitor who solicits a consumer may not enter or cause to be entered false information into a telephone caller identification service with the intent to deceive, defraud or mislead the consumer.
(b) A telephone solicitor who solicits a consumer may not place a call knowing that false information was entered into the telephone caller identification service with the intent to deceive, defraud or mislead the consumer.
The terms "call," "enter" and "false information," as used in this subsection, shall have the same meanings as prescribed under Section 77-3-803.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.
