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91_HB0157eng HB0157 Engrossed LRB9100428JSgc 1 AN ACT concerning telephone solicitations, amending named 2 Acts. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Automatic Telephone Dialers Act is 6 amended by changing Sections 5, 15, 20, and 30 as follows: 7 (815 ILCS 305/5) (from Ch. 134, par. 105) 8 Sec. 5. Definitions. For purpose of this Act: 9 (a) "Autodialer" or "Autodialer System" means any 10 telephone dialing or accessing device, machine, computer or 11 system capable of storing telephone numbers which is 12 programmed to sequentially or randomly access the stored 13 telephone numbers in order to automatically connect a 14 telephone with a recorded message, the term does not include 15 any device associated with a burglar alarm system, voice 16 message system or fire alarm system. 17 (b) "Emergency Telephone Number" means any telephone 18 number which accesses or calls a fire department, law 19 enforcement agency, ambulance, hospital, medical center, 20 poison control center, rape crisis center, suicide prevention 21 center, rescue service, the 911 emergency access number 22 provided by law enforcement agencies and police departments. 23 (c) "Recorded Message" means any taped communication 24 soliciting the sale of goods or services without live voice 25 interaction. 26 (d) "Voice Messaging System" means any message delivery 27 service which utilizes an autodialer to deliver 28 non-commercial messages to domestic and international 29 recipients. 30 (e) "Subscriber" means: 31 (1) A person who has subscribed to telephone HB0157 Engrossed -2- LRB9100428JSgc 1 service from a telephone company; or 2 (2) Other persons living or residing with the 3 subscribing person. 4 (f) "Caller ID" means the display to the recipient of 5 the call the caller's telephone number or identity. 6 (Source: P.A. 87-275.) 7 (815 ILCS 305/15) (from Ch. 134, par. 115) 8 Sec. 15. Method of operation. 9 (a) No person shall operate an autodialer in this State 10 to place a telephone call during the hours between 9 p.m. and 11 9 a.m. 12 (b) All autodialers operated within the State of 13 Illinois shall disconnect within 30 seconds after termination 14 of the call by the subscriber or the autodialer. Where 15 disconnection in 30 seconds is technically not feasible, the 16 autodialer shall utilize a live operator who shall: 17 (1) state his name, the name, address and telephone 18 number of the business or organization being represented 19 and the purpose of the call; and 20 (2) inquire at the beginning of the call whether 21 the person called consents to hear the prerecorded 22 message. 23 (c) An autodialer shall not be used to dial numbers 24 determined by successively increasing or decreasing integers. 25 (d) An autodialer may not be operated in a manner that 26 impedes the function of any caller ID when the telephone 27 solicitor's service or equipment is capable of allowing the 28 display of the solicitor's telephone number. 29 (Source: P.A. 87-275; 87-895.) 30 (815 ILCS 305/20) (from Ch. 134, par. 120) 31 Sec. 20. Exemptions. 32 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the provisions HB0157 Engrossed -3- LRB9100428JSgc 1 of this Act shall not apply to the following types of 2 telephone calls made by an autodialer: 3 (1) calls made in response to an express request of 4 the person called; 5 (2) calls made to any person with whom the 6 telephone solicitor has a prior or existing business 7 relationship; 8 (3) a telephone call placed on behalf of any 9 political, charitable, public opinion polling, research 10 survey, or radio or television broadcast rating 11 organization. 12 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), 13 all calls made by an autodialer must be made in compliance 14 with the requirements of subsection (d) of Section 15. 15 (Source: P.A. 87-275; 87-895.) 16 (815 ILCS 305/30) (from Ch. 134, par. 130) 17 Sec. 30. Violations. 18 (a) It isshall bea violation of this Act to make or 19 cause to be made telephone calls utilizing an autodialer to 20 any emergency telephone number as defined in Section 5of21this Act. It is a violation of this Act to make or cause to 22 be made telephone calls utilizing an autodialer in a manner 23 that does not comply with Section 15. 24 (b) It isshall bea violation of this ActSectionto 25 play a prerecorded message placed by an autodialer without 26 the consent of the called party. 27 (c) Enforcement by customer. Any customer injured by a 28 violation of this Act may bring an action for the recovery of 29 damages. Judgment may be entered for 3 times the amount at 30 which the actual damages are assessed, plus costs and 31 reasonable attorney fees. 32 (d) Enforcement by Attorney General. Violation of any of 33 the provisions of this Act is an unlawful practice under HB0157 Engrossed -4- LRB9100428JSgc 1 Section 2Z20of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business 2 Practices Act. All remedies, penalties and authority granted 3 to the Attorney General by that Act shall be available to him 4 for the enforcement of this Act. In any action brought by the 5 Attorney General to enforce this Act, the court may order 6 that persons who incurred actual damages be awarded the 7 amount at which actual damages are assessed. 8 (Source: P.A. 87-275.) 9 Section 10. The Telephone Solicitations Act is amended 10 by changing Sections 5, 15, 20, 23, and 25 as follows: 11 (815 ILCS 413/5) 12 Sec. 5. Definitions. For purposes of this Act: 13 "Caller ID" means the display to the recipient of the 14 call the caller's telephone number or identity. 15(a)"Emergency telephone number" means any telephone 16 number which accesses or calls a fire department, law 17 enforcement agency, ambulance, hospital, medical center, 18 poison control center, rape crisis center, suicide prevention 19 center, rescue service, the 911 emergency access number 20 provided by law enforcement agencies and police departments. 21(b)"Subscriber" means: 22 (1) A person who has subscribed to telephone 23 service from a telephone company; or 24 (2) Other persons living or residing with the 25 subscribing person. 26(c)"Telephone solicitation" means any communication 27 through the use of a telephone by live operators for 28 soliciting the sale of goods or services. 29 (Source: P.A. 90-541, eff. 6-1-98.) 30 (815 ILCS 413/15) 31 Sec. 15. Method of operation. HB0157 Engrossed -5- LRB9100428JSgc 1 (a) No person shall solicit the sale of goods or 2 services in this State by placing a telephone call during the 3 hours between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. 4 (b) A live operator soliciting the sale of goods or 5 services shall: 6 (1) immediately state his or her name, the name of 7 the business or organization being represented, and the 8 purpose of the call; and 9 (2) inquire at the beginning of the call whether 10 the person called consents to the solicitation; and 11 (3) if the person called requests to be taken off 12 the contact list of the business or organization, the 13 operator must refrain from calling that person again and 14 take all steps necessary to have that person's name and 15 telephone number removed from the contact records of the 16 business or organization so that the person will not be 17 contacted again by the business or organization. 18 Compliance with Section 310.4(b) of the Federal Trade 19 Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule shall constitute 20 compliance with this subsection (b)(3) of this Section. 21 (c) A person may not solicit the sale of goods or 22 services by telephone in a manner that impedes the function 23 of any caller ID when the telephone solicitor's service or 24 equipment is capable of allowing the display of the 25 solicitor's telephone number. 26 (Source: P.A. 90-541, eff. 6-1-98.) 27 (815 ILCS 413/20) 28 Sec. 20. Exemptions. 29 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the provisions 30 of this Act shall not apply to telephone calls made by an 31 autodialer. The provisions of this Act do not apply to 32 telephone calls made by a person who is a registered dealer, 33 registered investment adviser, or registered salesperson HB0157 Engrossed -6- LRB9100428JSgc 1 under Section 8 of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 or who 2 is registered as a broker-dealer, registered representative, 3 or salesperson of a broker-dealer under the federal 4 securities laws, when performing acts within the scope of 5 that registration. 6 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), 7 all telephone calls must be made in compliance with the 8 requirements of subsection (c) of Section 15. 9 (Source: P.A. 88-288.) 10 (815 ILCS 413/23) 11 Sec. 23. Limited exemption. 12 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the provisions 13 of this Act shall not apply to any licensed insurance 14 company, its licensed employees or agents when performing 15 acts within the scope of their licenses in relation to 16 existing customers or policyholders, or employees of licensed 17 agents. 18 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), 19 all telephone calls must be made in compliance with the 20 requirements of subsection (c) of Section 15. 21 (Source: P.A. 88-288.) 22 (815 ILCS 413/25) 23 Sec. 25. Violations. 24 (a) It isshall bea violation of this Act to make or 25 cause to be made telephone calls to any emergency telephone 26 number as defined in Section 5 of this Act. It is a violation 27 of this Act to make or cause to be made telephone calls in a 28 manner that does not comply with Section 15. 29 (b) It isshall bea violation of this ActSectionto 30 continue with a solicitation placed by a live operator 31 without the consent of the called party. 32 (c) Enforcement by customer. Any customer injured by a HB0157 Engrossed -7- LRB9100428JSgc 1 violation of this Act may bring an action for the recovery of 2 damages. Judgment may be entered for 3 times the amount at 3 which the actual damages are assessed, plus costs and 4 reasonable attorney fees. 5 (d) Enforcement by Attorney General. Violation of any of 6 the provisions of this Act is an unlawful practice under 7 Section 2Z of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business 8 Practices Act. All remedies, penalties, and authority granted 9 to the Attorney General by that Act shall be available to him 10 for the enforcement of this Act. In any action brought by the 11 Attorney General to enforce this Act, the court may order 12 that persons who incurred actual damages be awarded the 13 amount at which actual damages are assessed. 14 (Source: P.A. 88-288.) 15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect 16 January 1, 2000.