HB0091 - Telephone solicitation.

 

2001

State of Wyoming

01LSO-0063

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL NO.  HB0091

 

 

Telephone solicitation.

 

Sponsored by:

 

 

A BILL

 

for

 

 1  AN ACT relating to consumer protection; restricting
 2  unsolicited telephonic sales calls as specified;
 3  prohibiting calls to consumers listed on the national do-
 4  not-call list; providing for the registration of telephone
 5  solicitors; prohibiting the blocking of caller
 6  identification services; restricting the use of automated
 7  telephone dialing systems; specifying investigative powers;
 8  providing definitions; conforming related provisions;
 9  providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective
10  date.

11 

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

13 

14         Section 1.  W.S. 40-12-301 through 40-12-304 are
15  created to read:

16 

17                         ARTICLE 3

 

Page  1

 

 

 

 1                   TELEPHONE SOLICITATION

 2 

 3         40-12-301.  Definitions.

 4 

 5         (a)  As used in this article:

 6 

 7              (i)  "Caller identification service" means a type
 8  of telephone service or system which allows telephone
 9  subscribers to see the telephone numbers from which
10  incoming telephone calls are dialed;

11 

12              (ii)  "Consumer" means an actual or prospective
13  purchaser, lessee or recipient of consumer goods or
14  services;

15 

16              (iii)  "Consumer goods or services" means any
17  real property or any tangible or intangible personal
18  property or any services which are marketed and intended to
19  be used for personal, family or household purposes,
20  including, without limitation, any such property intended
21  to be attached to or installed in any real property without
22  regard to whether it is so attached or installed, as well
23  as cemetery lots and timeshare estates;

24 

 

Page  2

 

 

 

 1              (iv)  "Doing business in this state" refers to
 2  businesses which conduct telephonic sales calls from a
 3  location in Wyoming or from other states or nations to
 4  consumers located in Wyoming;

 5 

 6              (v)  "Enforcing authority" means the Wyoming
 7  attorney general;

 8 

 9              (vi)  "Merchant" means a person who, directly or
10  indirectly, offers or makes available to consumers any
11  consumer goods or services;

12 

13              (vii)  "National do-not-call list" means the list
14  maintained by the Telephone Preference Service of the
15  Direct Marketing Association, Inc., Farmingdale, New York,
16  or its successor organization;

17 

18              (viii)  "Telephonic sales call" means a call made
19  by a telephone solicitor to a consumer, for the purpose of
20  soliciting a sale of any consumer goods or services, for
21  the purpose of soliciting an extension of credit for
22  consumer goods or services, or for the purpose of obtaining
23  information that will or may be used for the direct
24  solicitation of a sale of consumer goods or services or an

 

Page  3

 

 

 

 1  extension of credit for such purposes;

 2 

 3              (ix)  "Telephone solicitor" means any natural
 4  person, business entity or a subsidiary or affiliate
 5  thereof, doing business in this state, who makes or causes
 6  to be made a telephonic sales call, including, but not
 7  limited to, calls made by use of automated dialing devices;

 8 

 9              (x)  "Unsolicited telephonic sales call" means a
10  telephonic sales call other than a call made:

11 

12                   (A)  In response to an express request of
13  the person called;

14 

15                   (B)  Primarily in connection with an
16  existing debt or contract, payment or performance of which
17  has not been completed at the time of the call; or

18 

19                   (C)  To any person with whom the telephone
20  solicitor had a prior relationship.

21 

22         40-12-302.  Telephone solicitations.

23 

 

Page  4

 

 

 

 1         (a)  Any telephone solicitor who makes an unsolicited
 2  telephonic sales call to a residential, mobile or
 3  telephonic paging device telephone number shall disclose at
 4  the outset of the conversation and in a clear and
 5  conspicuous manner to the person receiving the call, the
 6  following information:

 7 

 8              (i)  The true first and last name of the
 9  individual caller;

10 

11              (ii)  The identity of the merchant and the
12  telephone number from which the call was placed, and if
13  different, the number at which the person called can
14  contact the entity responsible for initiating the call;

15 

16              (iii)  That the purpose of the call is to sell
17  consumer goods or services; and

18 

19              (iv)  The nature of the consumer goods or
20  services.

21 

22         (b)  No telephone solicitor shall willfully make or
23  cause to be made any unsolicited telephonic sales call to
24  any residential, mobile or telephonic paging device

 

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 1  telephone number more than fourteen (14) days after the
 2  number for that telephone appears in the national do-not-
 3  call list. This subsection does not apply to any person who
 4  calls an actual or prospective seller or lessor of real
 5  property when the call is made in response to a yard sign
 6  or other form of advertisement placed by the seller or
 7  lessor.

 8 

 9         (c)  No person who makes an unsolicited telephonic
10  sales call to the telephone line of a residential
11  subscriber in this state shall knowingly utilize any method
12  to block or otherwise circumvent the subscriber's use of a
13  caller identification service.

14 

15         40-12-303.  Automated sales calls.

16 

17         (a)  No person shall make or knowingly allow a
18  telephonic sales call to be made if the call involves an
19  automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone
20  numbers or the playing of a recorded message when a
21  connection is completed to a number called.

22 

 

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 1         (b)  Subsection (a) of this section does not prohibit
 2  the use of an automated telephone dialing system with live
 3  messages if:

 4 

 5              (i)  The calls are made or messages given solely
 6  in response to calls initiated by the persons to whom the
 7  automatic calls or live messages are directed;

 8 

 9              (ii)  The telephone numbers selected for
10  automatic dialing have been screened to exclude any
11  telephone subscriber who is included on the national do-
12  not-call list and any unlisted telephone number; or

13 

14              (iii)  The call is to a consumer with whom the
15  caller had a prior relationship.

16 

17         40-12-304.  Investigation of complaints; enforcement;
18  attorney's fees.

19 

20         (a)  The enforcing authority shall investigate any
21  complaints received concerning violations of this article.
22  If, after investigating any complaint, the enforcing
23  authority finds that there has been a violation of this
24  article, the enforcing authority may bring an action to

 

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 1  impose a civil penalty and to seek other relief, including
 2  injunctive relief, as the court deems appropriate against
 3  the telephone solicitor. The civil penalty shall not exceed
 4  ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) per violation. This civil
 5  penalty may be recovered in any action brought under this
 6  article by the enforcing authority, or the enforcing
 7  authority may terminate any investigation or action upon
 8  agreement by the person to pay a stipulated civil penalty.
 9  The enforcing authority or the court may waive any civil
10  penalty if the person has previously made full restitution
11  or reimbursement or has paid actual damages to the
12  consumers who have been injured by the violation.

13 

14         (b)  In any civil litigation resulting from a
15  transaction involving a violation of this article, the
16  prevailing party, after judgment in the trial court and
17  exhaustion of all appeals, if any, shall receive reasonable
18  attorney's fees and costs from the nonprevailing party.

19 

20         (c)  The remedies provided by this section are not
21  exclusive and shall not preclude the imposition of any
22  other relief or criminal penalties provided by law.

23 

24         Section 2.  W.S. 6-6-104(b) is amended to read:

 

Page  8

 

 

 

 1 

 2         6-6-104.  Unlawful automated telephone solicitation;
 3  exceptions; penalties.

 4 

 5         (b)  This section shall not prohibit the use of an
 6  automated telephone system or device described under
 7  subsection (a) of this section for purposes of informing
 8  purchasers of the receipt, availability or delivery of
 9  goods or services, any delay or other pertinent information
10  on the status of any purchased goods or services or
11  responding to an inquiry initiated by any person, or the
12  use of an automated telephone dialing system as authorized
13  by W.S. 40-12-303.

14 

15         Section 3.  There is appropriated from the general
16  fund seventy thousand dollars ($70,000.00) to be expended
17  by the attorney general for the purpose of administrating
18  this act.

19 

20         Section 4.  This act is effective July 1, 2001.

21 

22                         (END)

 

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