Please direct updates or questions about the laws according to our
contact details.
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:
- PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE SECTION 2872 (f) might make it okay if you call a list of folks that you have a relationship with (potential voters, perhaps?) It reads, "This article does not apply to any automatic dialing-announcing device that is not used to randomly or sequentially dial telephone numbers but that is used solely to transmit a message to an established business associate, customer, or other person having an established relationship with the person using the automatic dialing-announcing device to transmit the message, or to any call generated at the request of the recipient."
- Or perhaps PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE SECTION 2872 (d)(2), which allows for calls by: An exempt organization under the Bank and Corporation Tax Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code) for purposes of contacting its members.
- For more on the definition of exempt organizations: Bank and Corporation Tax Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code)
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:
- None found. (Site extremely difficult to navigate.)
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:
- Only commercial calls are addressed in KRS 367.46951 (links to a PDF)
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:
- § 75-104. Restrictions on use of automatic dialing and
recorded message players. Covers solicitations.
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.
© 2008 WinningCalls.com (except Uncle Sam image)
