Legislators are backing off the total elimination of robo-calls. Somehow they are forgetting that people just don’t want to the phone to ring in the first place. They are also forgetting that people who use cell phones pay for those incoming calls. There’s a cost and inconvenience factor involved. But here’s the tweaks that they are pursuing, from the Norwalk Advocate:

The General Law Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that would require that any robotic phone message, political or commercial, be preceded by a live spokesperson.

A spokesperson would have to receive permission from the person answering the phone to play the recorded message. If the answer is no, the caller must hang up.

Robo-calls are automated tape-recorded phone calls with political or commercial messages.

Several legislators from southwestern Connecticut backed bills that would cover political robo-calls under the state’s do-not-call list for telemarketers and businesses. But some believed that action might prompt a constitutional battle.

The bill that passed the General Law Committee is the only one to make it to the Senate so far.

State Rep. Livvy Floren, R-Greenwich, said the bill is “brilliant.”

“The reason everyone’s using those robo-calls - they are so cheap,” Floren said. Discussing the need for live spokespersons to begin the calls, she said, “this is either going to take a volunteer base or it’s going to jack up your costs.”

Because robo-calls are unpopular, companies will decide it is not worth hiring spokespeople to introduce them, she said.

The bill limits the calls to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and allows the attorney general to pursue civil action against violators. The only exemptions would be recorded messages from school districts to students, parents or employees; messages to individuals with whom the caller has a business or personal relationship; and messages advising employees of work schedules.

There really is a technology solution here. There’s a computer making these calls, so allow for someone to stop the calls by pressing a number that also removes that phone number from the call list. Phone numbers are recycled all the time. There has to be a way to remove a phone number from unwanted call lists.

Stone said he may consider amending the bill on the floor of the House to specify that a phone call recipient can go beyond refusing a recorded message and request the caller never contact them in the future. The intent would be to have the same effect as the do-not-call list in such cases.

Source:: Norwalk Advocate, Legislators devise compromise to ‘robo-call’ measure, By Brian Lockhart, March 15, 2007