The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Legislature may add cell phone to ‘do not call’ list

  • Legislators hope to add cell phones to state "do not call" list
  • Bill would also increase violation fine from $100 to $1,000
  • Wisconsin's registry is similar to federal "do not call" list
  • Federal regulations effectively ban telemarketers from calling cell phones already

The Wisconsin "do not call" list could be expanded to include cell phones if the Legislature votes to add on to the current law that restricts how telemarketers do business.

The state registry includes more than 1 million people who have signed up since the list was created in January 2003, but supporters of the new regulations want cell phones to be able to join the list. A bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) would also increase the fine for violators from $100 to $1,000.

Estimates show another 1 to 2 million numbers may be added to the list if the new legislation is approved. The state Senate unanimously passed the bill Feb. 19, but it may not reach the governor's desk by the Legislature's mid-March adjournment. Talks in Madison suggest the Assembly may adjourn sometime this week, according to Erpenbach's aide, Julie Laundrie.

Since many people now use cell phones primarily instead of landlines, Laundrie said the legislation takes into account where technology is going.

The national "do not call" list went into effect in June 2003, just months after Wisconsin's registry was put in place. Other states have similar lists. Florida was the first state to create one in 1989.

"It can't hurt to get on both lists and get double protection, especially if your state is considering putting on cell phones," said Mitchell Katz, spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees the national list. All in all, he said, there's not too much difference between what the federal and state regulations cover.

But the multiple lists can be a nightmare for telemarketers. The federal legislation did not create a universal set of guidelines for telemarketing restrictions, said Zachary Rice, director of governmental affairs at the American Teleservices Association, an organization based in Indianapolis representing more than 4,000 telemarketing contract centers. With multiple state and federal laws, telemarketers can get fined for calling to Wisconsin from another state—which, Rice said, is regulation of interstate commerce.

Since the federal "do not call" legislation was implemented, companies have accrued about $16 million in civil penalties for telemarketing violations, Katz said.

Laundrie said Wisconsin's new restrictions, if approved, would codify federal and state laws. The state list imposes fines on any telemarketer who calls a Wisconsin resident with a registered "do not call" number. Companies only pay fines when multiple complaints are filed through the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"The thing about telemarketers is they don't just make one mistake," Laundrie said. "If they're going to call one person they're not supposed to call, they're gonna call a thousand."

The Federal Communications Commission bars telemarketers from using automatic dialers to call cell phones. Since most call centers use automatic dialers, federal regulations effectively prevent telemarketers from calling cell phones already, Katz said.

He said it can't hurt to register a cell phone number on a state list.

Rice said, "In my personal opinion, having the state Legislature in Wisconsin to put them on there would be redundant because it's already in there."

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