88R11584 JES-D
By: Davis H.B. No. 4403
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements for and prohibitions on certain
telemarketing calls.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 301.051(b), Business & Commerce Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A telephone solicitor may not make a consumer telephone
call to a consumer unless:
(1) the telephone solicitor, immediately after making
contact with the consumer to whom the call is made, identifies
within the first 30 seconds of the call and in the solicitor's
unaltered voice:
(A) himself or herself by name;
(B) the business on whose behalf the telephone
solicitor is calling; and
(C) the purpose of the call;
(2) the telephone solicitor makes the call after 12
noon and before 9 p.m. on a Sunday or after 10 [9] a.m. and before 6
[9] p.m. on a weekday or a Saturday; and
(3) for those calls in which an automated dial
announcing device is used, the device disconnects the consumer's
telephone line within the period specified by Section 55.126,
Utilities Code, after either the telephone solicitor or the
consumer terminates the call.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Business & Commerce
Code, is amended by adding Sections 301.0511 and 301.0512 to read as
follows:
Sec. 301.0511. REPEAT CALLS PROHIBITED. (a) A telephone
solicitor may not call the same consumer regarding the same subject
matter or issue more than two times, regardless of whether the
telephone solicitor places the call using a different telephone
number.
(b) A telephone solicitor may not call the same consumer
more than once if that consumer requests that the telephone
solicitor not call, regardless of whether the telephone solicitor
places the call using a different telephone number.
Sec. 301.0512. CONSENT REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN CALLS. A
telephone solicitor may not place a call to a consumer using an
automated dial announcing device without the consumer's express
written consent. A written consent provided under this section
must:
(1) be signed by the consumer;
(2) clearly authorize the telephone solicitor's use of
the automated dial announcing device to place calls to the
consumer;
(3) include the telephone number to which the consent
applies; and
(4) inform the consumer that the consumer is not
required to consent to the use of the automated dial announcing
device.
SECTION 3. Section 301.103, Business & Commerce Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), each call placed to a
consumer in violation of Section 301.0511 constitutes a separate
violation.
SECTION 4. Section 302.302(a), Business & Commerce Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who violates this chapter is subject to a civil
penalty of not more than $10,000 [$5,000] for each violation.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
this Act. A cause of action that accrues before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.