Prohibits unsolicited telemarketing sales calls during certain declared states of emergency

• Republican17
• Democratic11

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. says this is needed

Currently, General Business Law Section 399-z (5-a) prohibits telemar- keting calls from being made to New Yorkers who reside in locations affected by a state of emergency declared by the Governor. As a result, this law has prohibited telemarketing from taking place anywhere in the State since March 2020, because the Governor declared a statewide emer- gency due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as successive subsequent statewide emergencies related to other matters. When Subdivision (5-a) was enacted in 2019, it was intended to take a targeted approach to restricting telemarketing activities during a declared emergency, as traditionally, state of emergency disasters are short term and geographically limited to areas that experience a public emergency, such as a storm or public safety event, a civil disturbance or terrorism-related activity. With respect to Covid-19 and the ensuing gun violence emergency declaration, these states of emergency pronounce- ments have encompassed the entire state and have been long-term events. An unforeseen consequence of this law is that an important tool utilized by legitimate businesses to reach customers to help educate them regard- ing products or services that may be valuable to their businesses, employees or their own families, has been eliminated. This bill would correct the unanticipated consequences unleashed by the current law's enactment by limiting the telemarketing prohibition to only emergency declarations where it is determined that unsolicited telemarketing sales calls would impair actions taken to limit, control, or mitigate the emergency and explains the basis of such finding. In the event the State determines telemarketing calls would impair such actions, this bill would mandate such prohibition be in place for a period of two weeks. The two-week review period allows businesses to move forward with their normal business-related functions, including those encompassing telemar- keting activities, in circumstances under which a declared state of emergency extends beyond two weeks but problems or impairments from unsolicited telemarketing calls have been resolved within a shortened period. This serves the binary goals of avoiding an unnecessary disruption of essential business activities, while keeping a broader state of emergency in place, if necessary.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.