Do Not Disturb Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2957
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
Introduced: 2014-11-20
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Consumer affairs

Elections, voting, political campaign regulation

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Tax-exempt organizations

Telephone and wireless communication
Latest action: action_date: 2014-11-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Summaries:
action_date: 2014-11-20
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>Do Not Disturb Act of 2014 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand the list of entities prohibited from making telephone calls to numbers on the FTC's &quot;do-not-call&quot; registry to include: (1) political committees that accept donations or contributions that do not comply with contribution limits or source prohibitions (commonly known as Super PACs), and (2) tax exempt non-profit social welfare organizations engaged in political activities.</p> <p>Requires the FTC to expand rules against abusive telemarking to prohibit: (1) computer-dialed telephone calls with prerecorded messages (robo-calls) to numbers on the registry, and (2) push-polling calls regarding a candidate for public office in which voters are asked certain questions about opposing candidates or are likely to construe the call as a survey for an independent organization.</p> <p>Provides exceptions to allow robo-calls for emergencies or with the consent of the called party.</p>

tv_txt: II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2957 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 20, 2014 Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To limit the disturbance to American families caused by electioneering phone calls by expanding the National Do Not Call Registry to include Super PACs and other third-party political groups, to prohibit robo-calls to Americans who have listed their telephone numbers on the Registry, and to prohibit push-polling.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Do Not Disturb Act of 2014 . 2. Prohibition of unsolicited calls from Super PACs to individuals listed on the National Do Not Call Registry Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall issue a final rule, pursuant to its rulemaking authority under section 3 of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act ( 15 U.S.C. 6102 ), that amends section 310.4(b)(1)(iii) of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, to include, in the list of persons subject to the prohibitions set forth in such section— (1) political committees (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101)) that accept donations or contributions that do not comply with the contribution limits or source prohibitions under such Act (commonly known as Super PACs); and (2) social welfare organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that are engaged in political activities. 3. Prohibition of computer-dialed recorded messages to individuals listed on the National Do Not Call Registry Section 3(a)(3) of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6102(a)(3)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon; (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon; (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following: (C) a prohibition on computer-dialed telephone calls with prerecorded messages (other than calls made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) to telephone numbers that are listed on the National Do Not Call Registry; . 4. Push-polling (a) In general Section 3(a)(3) of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, as amended by section 3, is further amended by inserting after subparagraph (C), as added by section 3(4), the following: (D) a prohibition on push-polling; . (b) Push-Polling defined Section 3 of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act ( 15 U.S.C. 6102 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Defined term As used in subsection (a)(3), the term push-polling means a telephone call— (1) to a voter on behalf of, in support of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office; (2) in which the caller asks questions related to opposing candidates for public office that state, imply, or convey information about the candidates character, status, or political stance or record; or (3) that is conducted in a manner that is likely to be construed by the voter to be a survey or poll to gather statistical data for entities or organizations acting independent of any particular political party, candidate, or interest group. . 5. Rulemaking Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made by this Act.