An Act To Ban Telephone Solicitations Using an Artificial or Prerecorded Voice and Enhance Caller Identification
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0277
Committee: Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business
Sponsors: CHENETTE, NADEAU, MIRAMANT, CAIAZZO, RILEY
Amends: 10 MRSA §1498, 10 MRSA §1499-A

Legislative Document
No. 277
S.P. 89
In Senate, January 22, 2019
An Act To Ban Telephone Solicitations Using an Artificial or 
Prerecorded Voice and Enhance Caller Identification
Reference to the Committee on Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and 
Business suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator CHENETTE of York.
Cosponsored by Representative NADEAU of Winslow and
Senator: MIRAMANT of Knox, Representatives: CAIAZZO of Scarborough, RILEY of Jay.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA §1498, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 775, is amended to 
read:
2.  Prohibition.  A person may not use an automated telephone calling device or an 
artificial or prerecorded voice to make solicitation calls to:
A.  Any emergency telephone numbers in this State including, but not limited to, the 
emergency telephone numbers of any hospital, physician, health care facility, 
ambulance service, or fire or law enforcement officer or facility;
B.  Any paging or cellular phone within the State; or
C.  Any unlisted, unpublished, toll-free long distance or direct inward dial telephone 
number within the State.; or
D.  Any residential telephone number within the State.
Sec. 2.  10 MRSA §1498, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 775, is amended to 
read:
6.  Exceptions.  This section does not prohibit the use of an automated telephone 
calling device or an artificial or prerecorded voice to:
A.  Inform purchasers of the receipt, availability or delivery of goods or services or 
any other pertinent information on the status of any purchased goods or services;
B.  Respond to a telephone inquiry initiated by the person to whom the automated 
call or call using an artificial or prerecorded voice is directed; or
C.  Carry out the duties of any state or local governmental unit. or school 
administrative unit or private school;
D.  Deliver an emergency message by a governmental entity; or
E.  Deliver information with the prior express written consent of the recipient of the 
call.
Sec. 3.  10 MRSA §1499-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 70, §1 and 
affected by §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2.  Prohibition.  Except as provided in subsection 3, it is an unfair trade practice, as 
prohibited by Title 5, section 207, for a seller or telemarketer to:
A.  Fail to transmit or cause to be transmitted the telephone number and, when made 
available by the telemarketer's carrier, the name of the telemarketer to any caller 
identification service in use by a recipient of a telemarketing call; or
B.  Cause misleading information to be transmitted to users of caller identification 
services or to otherwise misrepresent or disguise the origin of the telephone 
solicitation call.
SUMMARY
This bill makes it an unfair trade practice for a telemarketer to misrepresent the 
telemarketer's phone number when making a solicitation. It also prohibits the use of 
prerecorded or artificial voices by telemarketers. It also provides that the current 
exceptions to the prohibition against using an automated telephone calling device also 
apply to the use of an artificial or prerecorded voice and provides additional exceptions 
for public and private schools, emergency messages by governmental entities and calls 
made to deliver information with the prior express written consent of the recipient of the 
call.