S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3941
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to including elec-
   tronic messaging texts as a form of telemarketing communication
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Paragraphs h, i, j, k, l and m of subdivision 1 of section
 399-z of the general business law, paragraphs h, i and j as  amended  by
 chapter  369  of  the  laws of 2012 and paragraph k as amended and para-
 graphs l and m as added by chapter 484 of the laws of 2016, are  amended
 and a new paragraph n is added to read as follows:
   h.  "Telemarketer"  means  any  person  who,  for  financial profit or
 commercial purposes in connection with telemarketing, makes  telemarket-
 ing  sales  calls  OR  ELECTRONIC MESSAGING TEXTS to a customer when the
 customer is in this state or any person who directly controls or  super-
 vises  the  conduct of a telemarketer. For the purposes of this section,
 "commercial purposes" shall mean the sale or offer for sale of goods  or
 services;
   i.  "Telemarketing"  means  any  plan,  program  or  campaign  that is
 conducted to induce payment or the exchange of any  other  consideration
 for  any goods or services that involves more than one telephone call OR
 ELECTRONIC MESSAGING TEXT by a telemarketer in  which  the  customer  is
 located within the state at the time of the call. Telemarketing does not
 include  the solicitation of sales through media other than by telephone
 calls OR ELECTRONIC MESSAGING TEXTS and does not include calls OR  ELEC-
 TRONIC  MESSAGING  TEXTS intended to implement or complete a transaction
 to which the customer has previously consented;
   j. "Telemarketing sales call" means a  telephone  call  OR  ELECTRONIC
 MESSAGING  TEXT  made DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY by a telemarketer or by any
 outbound  telephone  calling  technology  that  delivers  a  prerecorded
 message  to a customer or to a customer's voicemail or answering machine
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08728-01-1

 S. 3941                             2
 
 service, IN WHICH SUCH TELEPHONE CALL OR ELECTRONIC  MESSAGING  TEXT  IS
 for the purpose of inducing payment or the exchange of any other consid-
 eration for any goods or services;
   k.  "Unsolicited  telemarketing  sales  call"  means any telemarketing
 sales call OR ELECTRONIC MESSAGING TEXT other than [a call made]:
   (i) in response to an express written or verbal request by the custom-
 er; or
   (ii) in connection with an established  business  relationship,  which
 has not been terminated by either party, unless such customer has stated
 to  the  telemarketer that such customer no longer wishes to receive the
 telemarketing sales calls of such telemarketer;
   l. "Caller identification information" means information provided by a
 caller identification service regarding the telephone number and name of
 the person calling; [and]
   m. "Caller identification service" means a service that allows a tele-
 phone subscriber to have the telephone  number,  and,  where  available,
 name  of  the calling party transmitted contemporaneously with the tele-
 phone call, and displayed on a device in or connected to  the  subscrib-
 er's telephone[.]; AND
   N.  "ELECTRONIC MESSAGING TEXT" MEANS REAL-TIME OR NEAR REAL-TIME NON-
 VOICE MESSAGES IN TEXT FORM OVER COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS,  AND  INCLUDES
 THE TRANSMISSION OF WRITING, SIGNS, SIGNALS, PICTURES, AND SOUNDS OF ALL
 KINDS  BY AID OF WIRE, CABLE OR OTHER LIKE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE POINTS
 OF ORIGIN AND RECEPTION OF SUCH TRANSMISSION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.