An Act To Clarify Mme's "Do Not Call" Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1989
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: BARTLETT
Amends: 10 MRSA §14, 10 MRSA §1499-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1989 
S.P.783 
December 18, 2007 . 
An Act To Clarify Mme's "Do Not Call" Laws 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 18, 2007. Referred to the Committee 
on Utilities and Energy pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator BARTLETT of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §14'9-B, sub-§I, ~-1 is enacted to read: 
0-1. 
"Established business relationship" means a prior or existing relationship 
formed by a voluntary 2-way communication between a teiephone solicitor and a 
consumer with or without an exchange of consideration on the basis of the 
consumer's purchase from or transaction with the telephone solicitor within the 1 & 
months immediately preceding the date of a telephone sales call or on the basis of the 
consumer's inquiry or application regarding products or services offered by the 
telephone solicitor within the 3 months immediately preceding the date of the call as 
long as the relationship has not been previously terminated bv either party. 
II 
(I) The consumer's request not to be solicited by telephone registered pursuant to 
subsection 4 terminates an established business relationship for purposes of a 
telephone sales call even if the consumer continues to do business with the 
telephone solicitor. 
(2) The consumer's established business relationship with a particular telephone 
solicitor does not extend to affiliates of the telephone solicitor unless the 
consumer would reasonably expect them to be included given the nature and type 
of goods or services offered by the affiliate and the identity of the affiliate. 
Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §1499-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 227, §2, is 
amended to read: 
2. Application. This section does not apply to: 
A. A telephone sales call made in response to and at the express request of the 
person called; 
B. A telephone sales call made primarily in connection with an existing debt or 
contract for which payment or performance has not been completed at the time ofthe 
call; ef 
C. A telephone sales call for a solicitation other than a commercial solicitation, but 
only if: 
(I) The telephone call is made by a volunteer or an employee of the soliciting 
organization; and 
(2) The telephone solicitor who makes the telephone call immediately discloses 
all of the following information: 
(a) The solicitor's true first and last name; and 
(b) The name, address and telephone number of the soliciting organization ... ~ 
35' 
or 
O. A telephone sales call made to any person with whom the telephone solicitor has 
an established business relationship. 
f 
I 
II 
Sec. 3. 
MRSA §1499-B, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 227, §2, IS 
amended to read: 
6. Telephone solicitation violations. It is a violation of this section for a telephone 
solicitor to initiate a telephone sales call to a consumer if that consumer's telephone 
number has been on the national or state do-not-call registry, established by the Federal 
Trade Commission, for at least 3 months prior to the date the call is made. It is an 
:lffiU:ll:ltj\C defense in aM action brought under this subsection that the defendant has 
~staQE~h-:d and Jmplemented. with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to 
effecti'-':~Y-Rrevent telephone solicitati5)Os in violation of this section. 
SUMMARY 
This bill restores an affirmative defense provision to Maine's "Do Not Call" laws and 
adds an exemption from the application of the statute for telephone calls made to any 
person with whom the caller has an established business relationship.