1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to consumer protection; commercial telephone 
  1.3             solicitations; regulating do-not-call requests; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 325E.31; 
  1.5             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 325E. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [325E.295] [DO-NOT-CALL PROCEDURES.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [REQUIREMENT.] No caller shall initiate a 
  1.10  commercial telephone solicitation to a subscriber unless the 
  1.11  caller has instituted procedures for maintaining a list of 
  1.12  persons who do not wish to receive commercial telephone 
  1.13  solicitations made by or on behalf of that caller.  The 
  1.14  procedures instituted must meet the minimum standards in 
  1.15  subdivisions 2 to 6. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [WRITTEN POLICY.] Callers making commercial 
  1.17  telephone solicitations must have a written policy, available 
  1.18  upon demand, for maintaining a do-not-call list. 
  1.19     Subd. 3.  [TRAINING OF PERSONNEL ENGAGED IN TELEPHONE 
  1.20  SOLICITATION.] Personnel engaged in any aspect of commercial 
  1.21  telephone solicitation must be informed and trained in the 
  1.22  existence and use of the do-not-call list. 
  1.23     Subd. 4.  [RECORDING, DISCLOSURE OF DO-NOT-CALL 
  1.24  REQUESTS.] If a caller making a commercial telephone 
  1.25  solicitation, or on whose behalf a solicitation is made, 
  1.26  receives a request from a subscriber not to receive calls from 
  2.1   that caller, the caller must record the request and place the 
  2.2   subscriber's name and telephone number on the do-not-call list 
  2.3   at the time the request is made.  If these requests are recorded 
  2.4   or maintained by a party other than the caller on whose behalf 
  2.5   the solicitation is made, the caller on whose behalf the 
  2.6   solicitation is made will be liable for any failures to honor 
  2.7   the do-not-call request.  In order to protect the consumer's 
  2.8   privacy, callers must obtain a subscriber's prior express 
  2.9   consent to share or forward the subscriber's request not to be 
  2.10  called to a party other than the caller on whose behalf a 
  2.11  solicitation is made or an affiliated entity. 
  2.12     Subd. 5.  [AFFILIATED PERSONS OR ENTITIES.] In the absence 
  2.13  of a specific request by the subscriber to the contrary, a 
  2.14  subscriber's do-not-call request shall apply to the particular 
  2.15  caller making the call, or on whose behalf a call is made, and 
  2.16  will not apply to affiliated entities unless the subscriber 
  2.17  reasonably would expect them to be included given the 
  2.18  identification of the caller and the product being advertised. 
  2.19     Subd. 6.  [MAINTENANCE OF DO-NOT-CALL LISTS.] A caller 
  2.20  making commercial telephone solicitations must maintain a record 
  2.21  of a caller's request not to receive future commercial telephone 
  2.22  solicitations.  A do-not-call request must be honored for ten 
  2.23  years from the time the request is made.  
  2.24     Subd. 7.  [APPOINTMENT OF AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS.] A 
  2.25  caller making commercial telephone solicitations that is not a 
  2.26  resident of Minnesota shall file with the secretary of state the 
  2.27  name and address of a duly authorized agent for service of legal 
  2.28  process.  The agent must be a resident of Minnesota. 
  2.29     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 325E.31, is 
  2.30  amended to read: 
  2.31     325E.31 [REMEDIES.] 
  2.32     (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), a person 
  2.33  who is found to have violated sections 325E.27 to 325E.30 is 
  2.34  subject to the penalties and remedies, including a private right 
  2.35  of action to recover damages, as provided in section 8.31. 
  2.36     (b) A person found to have violated section 325E.295 is 
  3.1   subject to the penalties and remedies in paragraph (a), except 
  3.2   that a civil penalty imposed may not exceed $500.