Bill Text: NY S03941 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Includes electronic messaging texts as a form of telemarketing communication for purposes of the no-call registry.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-06-03 - SUBSTITUTED BY A6040 [S03941 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S03941-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3941

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 1, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to including elec-
          tronic messaging texts as a form of telemarketing communication

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Paragraphs h, i, j, k, l and m of subdivision 1 of section
     2  399-z of the general business law, paragraphs h, i and j as  amended  by
     3  chapter  369  of  the  laws of 2012 and paragraph k as amended and para-
     4  graphs l and m as added by chapter 484 of the laws of 2016, are  amended
     5  and a new paragraph n is added to read as follows:
     6    h.  "Telemarketer"  means  any  person  who,  for  financial profit or
     7  commercial purposes in connection with telemarketing, makes  telemarket-
     8  ing  sales  calls  or  electronic messaging texts to a customer when the
     9  customer is in this state or any person who directly controls or  super-
    10  vises  the  conduct of a telemarketer. For the purposes of this section,
    11  "commercial purposes" shall mean the sale or offer for sale of goods  or
    12  services;
    13    i.  "Telemarketing"  means  any  plan,  program  or  campaign  that is
    14  conducted to induce payment or the exchange of any  other  consideration
    15  for  any goods or services that involves more than one telephone call or
    16  electronic messaging text by a telemarketer in  which  the  customer  is
    17  located within the state at the time of the call. Telemarketing does not
    18  include  the solicitation of sales through media other than by telephone
    19  calls or electronic messaging texts and does not include calls or  elec-
    20  tronic  messaging  texts intended to implement or complete a transaction
    21  to which the customer has previously consented;
    22    j. "Telemarketing sales call" means a  telephone  call  or  electronic
    23  messaging  text  made directly or indirectly by a telemarketer or by any
    24  outbound  telephone  calling  technology  that  delivers  a  prerecorded
    25  message  to a customer or to a customer's voicemail or answering machine

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08728-01-1
        S. 3941                             2

     1  service, in which such telephone call or electronic  messaging  text  is
     2  for the purpose of inducing payment or the exchange of any other consid-
     3  eration for any goods or services;
     4    k.  "Unsolicited  telemarketing  sales  call"  means any telemarketing
     5  sales call or electronic messaging text other than [a call made]:
     6    (i) in response to an express written or verbal request by the custom-
     7  er; or
     8    (ii) in connection with an established  business  relationship,  which
     9  has not been terminated by either party, unless such customer has stated
    10  to  the  telemarketer that such customer no longer wishes to receive the
    11  telemarketing sales calls of such telemarketer;
    12    l. "Caller identification information" means information provided by a
    13  caller identification service regarding the telephone number and name of
    14  the person calling; [and]
    15    m. "Caller identification service" means a service that allows a tele-
    16  phone subscriber to have the telephone  number,  and,  where  available,
    17  name  of  the calling party transmitted contemporaneously with the tele-
    18  phone call, and displayed on a device in or connected to  the  subscrib-
    19  er's telephone[.]; and
    20    n.  "Electronic messaging text" means real-time or near real-time non-
    21  voice messages in text form over communications networks,  and  includes
    22  the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds of all
    23  kinds  by aid of wire, cable or other like connection between the points
    24  of origin and reception of such transmission.
    25    § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    26  have become a law.