Farry changes add extra protection for consumers, businesses
The Times
The House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation to help consumers and businesses stop unwanted telemarketing calls by updating the state’s do-not-call list requirements, said Rep. Frank Farry (R-Bucks), who has been working on this issue since 2015.
House Bill 318 would make do-not-call list registrations permanent until the phone number switches subscribers or the original subscriber asks to be removed from the registry. The current do-not-call list requires registrants to re-register their phone number every five years.
In 2015, Farry amended similar legislation to include an opt-out provision for robocalls. This language was included in House Bill 318.
“We added a requirement that telemarketers using a robocall system would have to provide an opt-out option within the first few seconds of each call for the person who receives the solicitation,” Farry said. “People don’t have time to listen to a five-minute recording just so they can opt-out.”
Additionally, Farry amended House Bill 318 to allow Pennsylvania businesses to add their numbers to the registry. Currently, only residential and wireless phone numbers can be registered.
“A local mechanic explained to me that every time his business line rings, someone puts their work on hold to take the call, which they assume is a customer,” Farry said. “When you think about this, it’s easy to see how frequent unwanted telemarketing calls can be frustrating for small businesses.”
House Bill 318 now awaits consideration by the state Senate.
“These are reasonable reforms that would make life easier for Pennsylvanians who don’t want to receive telemarketing solicitations or robocalls,” Farry said.
