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State Laws

Today, commercial robo-calls are almost completely illegal, but emergency notification, political robo-calls and non-profit voice broadcasting are largely ignored by federal law because of free speech and safety concerns. For example, the federal "Do Not Call" list does not apply to calls made on behalf of political candidates. Due to the low prices of robo-calls, this opens up the political process to individuals who do not have the resources to purchase expensive television advertising.

Unfortunately for Winning Calls and our customers, the laws on robocall technology vary from state to state. Some are upheld by the federal courts despite their conflict with the First Amendment. We require all customers to sign a disclaimer stating that they are conducting their campaign according to the law.

At a minimum, federal rules from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 require a disclosure of the entity making the call at the start of the call; and during or at the end of the call, their phone number or address. (Note this came out in 1991 -- before the rise of the "web" address as one of the primary means of contacting a campaign.) In most cases, the TCPA also prohibits robocalls to emergency numbers, hospitals, and cellular phones, except when the recipient consented previously or the call is made for emergency purposes.

Several state laws require disclosure of who is paying for the call. If a solicitation for funds is involved, then you must make clear if you are authorized by the campaign to make such an appeal. This is similar to -- but not the same as -- the "approved by" messages at the end of political television advertisements.

And some states are now banning political robocalls altogether. We've compiled a list of state laws here to make it easier for everyone to know what the rules are. The list was compiled by searching each of the states' laws for Get Out The Vote (GOTV) related keywords like "political advertising", "robo-calls", "prerecorded", "auto calls", "automated call", "recorded messages", "voice broadcasting" and the ubiquitous legalese "automatic dialing-announcing device" (ADAD). In addition, the election codes of each state were reviewed for similar terms and campaign disclosure requirements. In some cases, pending legislation concerning political robo-call regulation was obtained during wider web searches.

Please note that this is an informational guide to the current state laws as of September 2007 and should not take the place of advice from a lawyer. Winning Calls is a voice broadcasting company and not a legal referral service. Winning Calls makes no warranty, express or implied, of the accuracy of the information provided below.

AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY



Alaska
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Alabama
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Arkansas
Unclear. Site is extremely difficult to navigate.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Arizona
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



California
Some restrictions. You might only be allowed to contact members of your exempt organization with a robocall. Otherwise, you may need to provide a live answer before bridging the call to the machine. Please find out if your calling campaign will be compliant.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Colorado
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Connecticut
Must include candidate's name in their own voice.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



District of Columbia
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Delaware
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Florida
Must include who paid for the message. Must register with the state.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Georgia
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Hawaii
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Iowa
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Idaho
At the beginning of the recorded message, you must disclose the name of the person for whom the message is being made, the purpose of the message, and the contact information of the caller.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Illinois
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Indiana
Requires consent of recipient before call is placed, or use a live operator to start the call and ask if a person would like to hear a prerecorded message.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Kansas
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Kentucky
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Louisiana
Cumbersome. ADAD equipment provider (ie. Winning Calls) must register and be bonded with the state. Lots of restrictions when conducting polls, including no calls on Sundays or state holidays.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Massachusetts
The local phone company maintains a do not call list of individuals not wishing to receive calls from automatic telephone dialing systems.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Maryland
No known restrictions on calls at the state level, but the site is extremely difficult to navigate as the state does not hold the
necessary copyrights that would allow them to put the Annotated Code online.
Pertinent sections of state laws: top



Minnesota
Requires consent of recipient before call is placed, or use a live operator to start the call and ask if a person would like to hear a prerecorded message.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Mississippi
No restrictions on calls at the state level.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Montana
Requires consent of recipient before call is placed, or use a live operator to start the call and ask if a person would like to hear a prerecorded message.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



North Carolina
No restrictions on calls at the state level, provided the call is made by a tax-exempt charitable or civic organization or political part or political candidate.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



North Dakota
Requires consent of recipient before call is placed, or use a live operator to start the call and ask if a person would like to hear a prerecorded message.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



New Hampshire
UNCLEAR. Winning Calls could probably not make the calls on your behalf because we are a for-profit entity. However, you could
get a quote on a custom dialer from us and make the calls from your campaign or party office.
Pertinent sections of state laws: top



Oregon
ILLEGAL FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES AS OF JANUARY 1, 2008.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Pennsylvania
Must start recording with name, address and call back number of the calling party, then the nature and purpose of the message, and then the fact the message is a recording. Calling allowed from 9am to 9pm, and on Sundays from 1:30pm to 9pm.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Virginia
Must disclose name of candidate and who paid for the call.
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Wyoming
ILLEGAL
Pertinent sections of
state laws: top



Pending further review.



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