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DATE:
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September 25, 2001
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TO:
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Board of Supervisors
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SUBJECT:
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Protecting San Diegans from Telemarketing Harassment (District: All)
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SUMMARY:
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Overview
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An ever-growing number of telephone solicitations are invading the sanctuary of our homes and interrupting the few precious hours we have to spend in peace and quiet either alone or with friends and loved ones. The good news is that help may be on the way. Two bills have been approved by the State Legislature and are now on the Governor’s desk that would provide some relief and protection for the citizens ofCalifornia. Assembly Bill 870 would prohibit any person or company operating an automatic dialing-announcing device from making telephone connections where no live person is available to greet the person called. Senate Bill 771 will establish a statewide “do not call” list for residential and wireless telephone subscribers who do not want to receive telephone solicitations and will prohibit telephone solicitors from calling subscribers on the list. The recommended actions ask the Board to adopt and convey to the Governor and members of the San Diego Delegation a formal position of support for AB 870 and SB 771.
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Recommendation(s)
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SUPERVISOR ROBERTS:
Direct the Chief Administrative Officer:
- Draft a letter for Chairman Bill Horn’s signature conveying to Governor Gray Davis and members of San Diego County’s State legislative delegation the support of the Board of Supervisors for Assembly Bill 870 and Senate Bill 771; and
- Direct the County’sSacramentorepresentative to convey the Board’s support for Assembly Bill 870 and Senate Bill 771 to the Governor and all appropriate State legislative members and committees.
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Fiscal Impact
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There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
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BACKGROUND:
All of us know the feeling of frustration and annoyance. The telephone rings and you move to answer it, expecting a friend or family member on the other side of the line. Instead, you get a telemarketer, invading your home and privacy to try and sell you something you don’t want or already have. Or worse still, you say “hello” repeatedly and get only the dead silence of an automated telemarketing machine that hangs up on you.
The problem is only getting worse. Telemarketing is a booming industry. This year, companies will spend a record $78 billion nationwide to market products by phone, according to the Direct Marketing Association (San Diego Union-Tribune, August 13, 2001). An ever-growing number of telephone solicitations will be invading the sanctuary of our homes and interrupting the few precious hours a week we have to spend in peace and quiet either alone or together with our friends and loved ones.
The good news is that help may be on the way. Two bills have been approved by the State Legislature and are now on the Governor’s desk that would provide some relief and protection for the citizens of California – Assembly Bill 870 and Senate Bill 771.
Assembly Bill 870
This measure would prohibit, effective July 1, 2002, any person or company operating an automatic dialing-announcing device from making telephone connections where no live person is available to greet the person called.
This bill will eliminate the obnoxious practice of “hang-up” calls that result when an automated computer system dials more calls than there are telemarketers to take them. If the computer reaches a live voice but there is no operator ready, it may call the same number and hang up repeatedly until there is an operator ready to make the sales pitch. At minimum, these calls are a nuisance and invasion of privacy. Worse still, they can cause real fear and distress, since the person receiving the call does not know who is hanging up or why.
Senate Bill 771
This measure will establish a statewide “do not call” list for residential and wireless telephone subscribers who do not want to receive telephone solicitations, and prohibits telephone solicitors from calling subscribers who are on the “do not call” list.
This bill is modeled on other similar programs in a number of other states, which have been very popular with citizens fed up with the ever-growing deluge of telemarketing calls. By placing their names on the “do not call” list, citizens will have the ability to maintain peace and privacy in their homes, free of unwanted solicitations. Any person on the “do not call” list who receives an illegal solicitation will face penalties from the State Attorney General, the local District Attorney or City Attorney, and the individual citizen, who will be allowed to bring civil action against the solicitor.
Current federal law does require companies to keep “do not call” lists. However, consumers who do not want calls must ask each individual telemarketer to place them on the list. Furthermore, the law reportedly has loopholes and compliance rates as low as 35 percent (Source: State Senate Rules Committee Bill Analysis of Senate Bill 771, Office of Senate Floor Analyses, September 12, 2001).
The recommended actions ask that this Board adopt and convey to the Governor and members of the San Diego Delegation a formal position of support for AB 870 and SB 771. Both of these measures would do much to preserve the peace and privacy of San Diegans being harassed by telemarketers who invade the privacy of their homes.
I urge your support.
Respectfully submitted,
RON ROBERTS
Supervisor, Fourth District
