ASSEMBLY, No. 1023

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblymen CONNORS and MORAN

 

 

An Act concerning recorded telephone messages and amending P.L.1993, c.252.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. Section 2 of P.L.1993, c.252 (C.48:17-28) is amended to read as follows:

    2. A caller shall not use a telephone or telephone line to contact a subscriber to deliver a recorded message [for the purpose of delivering commercial advertisement to the subscriber] other than for emergency purposes, unless the recorded message is introduced by an operator who shall obtain the subscriber's consent before playing the recorded message, or unless a prior or current business relationship exists between the caller and the subscriber.

    As used in this section, "emergency purposes" means calls made necessary in any situation affecting the health and safety of consumers.

(cf: P.L.1993, c.252, s.2)

 

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill prohibits the making of intrastate telephone calls to deliver any recorded message other than a call made for emergency purposes, unless the recorded message is introduced by a live operator who obtains the consent of the person called, or unless a prior or current business relationship exists between the caller and the person called. The bill changes the current law which prohibits only the making of intrastate telephone calls to deliver a recorded commercial message. In the case of Lysaght v. State of N.J., 837 F.Supp. 646 (D.N.J.1993) the enforcement of the current law was enjoined because the court held that the law was likely to violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

    The bill makes the State law similar to the federal "Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991," 47 U.S.C. §227 (b)(1), which prohibits the making of interstate telephone calls to deliver recorded messages without the prior consent of the party called, unless the call is initiated for emergency purposes or is exempted by rule or order of the Federal Communications Commission.The constitutionality of the federal law was upheld in the case of Moser v. F.C.C., 46 F.3d. 970 (9th Cir. 1995).

 

 

 

Prohibits certain recorded telephone messages.