Bill Text: NY S03297 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Limits robocalls to state residents and requires telephone service providers to offer free call mitigation technology to telephone customers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 34-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-12-28 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S03297 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03297-Amended.html
Bill Title: Limits robocalls to state residents and requires telephone service providers to offer free call mitigation technology to telephone customers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 34-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-12-28 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S03297 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03297-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3297--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 5, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, CARLUCCI, BAILEY, BIAGGI, COMRIE, KAMINSKY, KRUEGER, PARKER, PERSAUD, SANDERS, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to limiting robo- calls to state residents and to require telephone service providers to offer free call mitigation technology to telephone customers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "robocall 2 prevention act". 3 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 91-b to 4 read as follows: 5 § 91-b. Robocalls. 1. As used in this section: 6 (a) "Robocall" means a call made, including a text message sent: 7 (i) using equipment that makes a series of calls to stored telephone 8 numbers, including numbers stored on a list, or to telephone numbers 9 produced using a random or sequential number generator, except for a 10 call made using only equipment that the caller demonstrates requires 11 substantial additional human intervention to dial or place a call after 12 a human initiates the call or series of calls; or 13 (ii) using an artificial or prerecorded voice. 14 (b) "Call mitigation technology" means technology that identifies an 15 incoming call or text message as being, or as probably being, a robocall 16 and, on that basis, blocks the call or message, diverts it to the called 17 person's answering system, or otherwise prevents it from being completed 18 to the called person, except that it permits a call or text so identi- 19 fied to be completed when it is identified as being made by a law 20 enforcement or public safety entity, or when it is identified as origi- 21 nating from a caller with respect to whom the called person has provided EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02262-04-9S. 3297--A 2 1 prior express consent to receive such a call or message and has not 2 revoked that consent. 3 (c) "Prior express consent" means agreement provided by a called 4 person to allow the caller to make a robocall to the called person's 5 telephone, in relation to the specific subject matter for which the call 6 is made. 7 2. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to make any robo- 8 call other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the 9 prior express consent of the called party, to any telephone number owned 10 by a person or entity in the state. A customer's prior express consent 11 can be revoked by the customer at any time in any reasonable manner, 12 regardless of the context in which the owner or user of the telephone 13 provided consent. 14 (b) The commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the 15 provisions of this subdivision, and may exempt from the requirements of 16 this subdivision, subject to such conditions as the commission may 17 prescribe, calls made to a residential telephone line that are not made 18 for a commercial purpose. 19 3. (a) A telephone service provider that provides telephone service to 20 customers residing in the state shall make call mitigation technology 21 available to any such customer, upon request, and at no additional 22 charge. Such provider shall also offer to any such customer the ability 23 to have the provider prevent calls and text messages identified as orig- 24 inating from a particular person from being completed to the called 25 person, upon request, and at no additional charge. 26 (b) The commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the 27 requirements of this subdivision, including, if appropriate, a reason- 28 able delay in requiring implementation and offering of call mitigation 29 technology if for good cause, taking into account the consumer 30 protection purposes of this section, and including procedures for 31 addressing incidents in which a call wanted by the customer is prevented 32 from reaching the customer. 33 4. (a) Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an appli- 34 cation may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of 35 the state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue 36 an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five 37 days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and if 38 it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice, that the 39 defendant has, in fact, violated this section an injunction may be 40 issued by such court or justice enjoining and restraining any further 41 violation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been 42 injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding, the court may make 43 allowances to the attorney general as provided in paragraph six of 44 subdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil prac- 45 tice law and rules, and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall 46 determine that a violation of subdivision two of this section has 47 occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than two 48 thousand dollars per call, up to a total of not more than twenty thou- 49 sand dollars, for calls placed in violation of such subdivision within a 50 continuous seventy-two hour period. In connection with any such proposed 51 application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a 52 determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance 53 with the civil practice law and rules. 54 (b) In addition to the right of action granted to the attorney general 55 pursuant to this section, any person harmed by a violation of the 56 provisions of subdivision two of this section, or of any regulationsS. 3297--A 3 1 promulgated by the commission relating to this section, may bring an 2 action in any court of competent jurisdiction: 3 (i) to enjoin such violation; and/or 4 (ii) to recover for actual monetary loss from such violation or to 5 receive five hundred dollars in damages for such violation, whichever is 6 greater. 7 (c) If the court finds that the defendant willfully or knowingly 8 violated the provisions of subdivision two of this section or any regu- 9 lations prescribed hereunder, the court may, in its discretion, increase 10 the amount of the monetary award to an amount equal to not more than 11 three times the amount available pursuant to paragraph (b) of this 12 subdivision. 13 (d) No action to recover damages for a violation of the provisions of 14 this section may be brought more than four years after the alleged 15 violation occurred. 16 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 17 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 18 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 19 of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made 20 and completed on or before such effective date.
