Bill Text: NJ SR24 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges FCC to require landline and wireless telephone service providers to implement necessary technology to block robocalls to customers, free of charge, and to enact regulations to prevent robocalls from reaching customers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-27 - Filed with Secretary of State [SR24 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-SR24-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RICHARD J. CODEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Urges FCC to require landline and wireless telephone service providers to implement necessary technology to block robocalls to customers, free of charge, and to enact regulations to prevent robocalls from reaching customers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A Senate Resolution urging the Federal Communications Commission to require landline and wireless telephone service providers to implement the necessary technology to block robocalls to their customers, free of charge, and to enact regulations to prevent robocalls from reaching customers.
Whereas, A "robocall" is a telephone call often placed by telemarketers who use a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if the message were delivered from a robot; and
Whereas, Federal law provides that telemarketers are no longer able to make robocalls to landline telephones based solely on an "established business relationship" that a customer may have established when purchasing an item from a business or contacting the business to ask questions; and
Whereas, Under federal law, written consent is required for all robocalls or texts made to a wireless telephone number; further, telemarketers have never been permitted to make robocalls to a wireless telephone number based solely on an "established business relationship" with the customer; and
Whereas, Robocalls calls have increased in recent years because new technology has made it cheaper and easier for telemarketers to make robocalls from anywhere in the world while hiding their identities by displaying fake caller identification information; and
Whereas, Many telephone users consider robocalls to be a nuisance and disruptive and are frustrated with their inability to stop robocalls; and
Whereas, While New Jersey and other states have enacted laws to curtail unwanted telemarketing calls including robocalls, enforcing these laws has proven difficult as many of the unwanted telemarketing calls originate out-of-state or from foreign countries; and
Whereas, There is technology available that could block robocalls from reaching customers; and
Whereas, Landline and wireless telephone service providers can implement the necessary technology that would block robocalls from reaching customers; and
Whereas, The Federal Communication Commission should enact the necessary regulations to require landline and wireless telephone service providers to block robocalls from reaching their customers; and
Whereas,
It is altogether fitting and proper for this House to respectfully urge the Federal Communications Commission to require landline
and wireless telephone service providers to implement the necessary technology
to block robocalls to their customers, free of charge, and to enact regulations
to prevent robocalls from reaching customers; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House respectfully urges the Federal Communications Commission to require landline and wireless telephone service providers to implement the necessary technology to block robocalls to their customers, free of charge, and to enact regulations to prevent robocalls from reaching customers.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to each Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, the presiding officers of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, and to each member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the Federal Communications Commission to require landline and wireless telephone service providers to implement the necessary technology to block robocalls to their customers, free of charge, and to enact regulations to prevent robocalls from reaching customers. A "robocall" is a telephone call often placed by telemarketers who use a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if the message were delivered from a robot.
Federal law provides that telemarketers are no longer able to make robocalls to landline telephones based solely on an "established business relationship" that a customer may have established when purchasing an item from a business or contacting the business to ask questions. Under federal law, written consent is required for all robocalls or texts made to a wireless telephone number; further, telemarketers have never been permitted to make robocalls to a wireless telephone number based solely on an "established business relationship" with the customer.
Robocalls calls have increased in recent years because new technology has made it cheaper and easier for telemarketers to make robocalls from anywhere in the world while hiding their identities by displaying fake caller identification information. Many telephone users consider robocalls to be a nuisance and disruptive and are frustrated with their inability to stop robocalls.
While New Jersey and other states have enacted laws to curtail unwanted telemarketing calls, enforcing these laws has proven difficult as many of the unwanted telemarketing calls originate out-of-state or from foreign countries.
Landline and wireless telephone service providers can implement the necessary technology that would block robocalls from reaching customers.
