Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.14 – Listing procedures; prohibited acts; Telephonic Solicitation Relief Dedicated Fund Account
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.14
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Commission: means the Louisiana Public Service Commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
- Doing business in this state: means conducting a telephonic solicitation either from a location within this state or from a location outside of this state to residential telephonic subscribers residing in this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
- Federal Do Not Call Law: shall mean the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act as set forth in Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- National Do Not Call Registry: shall mean the list of consumers maintained by the Federal Trade Commission who have indicated that they do not wish to receive unsolicited or unwanted telephonic solicitations pursuant to the Federal Do Not Call Law. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
- Residential telephonic subscriber: means any natural person who has subscribed to residential telephonic service from a telecommunications service provider or any other natural person living or residing with such person. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
- Telephonic solicitation: means any voice or data communication made by a telephonic solicitor to a residential telephonic subscriber for the purpose of encouraging a sale or rental of or investment in property, consumer goods, or services; or for the purpose of encouraging an extension of credit for property, consumer goods, or services; or for the purpose of obtaining information that will or may be used for the direct solicitation of a sale or rental of or investment in property, consumer goods, or services or an extension of credit for such purposes; or for the solicitation of a contribution to a charitable organization, but does not include voice or data communications made for any of the following reasons:
(a) In response to an express request of the person called. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
- Telephonic solicitor: means any natural person, firm, organization, partnership, association, or corporation, or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof, doing business in this state, who makes or causes to be made a telephonic solicitation, including but not limited to any communication made by use of automated dialing or recorded message devices. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:844.12
A.(1) Any residential telephonic subscriber desiring to be placed on a “do not call” listing shall be placed on that listing upon the commission’s receipt of a request form. This listing shall be effective for five years and renewed by the commission upon receipt of a renewal notice.
(2)(a) The commission or its contractor shall update its “do not call” listing no less than quarterly. The listing shall include the telephonic numbers, but not the names or addresses of residential telephonic subscribers, arranged by area code and numerical sequence, who do not want to receive telephonic solicitations, as defined in this Chapter.
(b) No later than January 1, 2006, the commission or its contractor shall update its “do not call” listing monthly.
(3)(a) Telephonic solicitors, as defined in this Chapter, doing business in this state shall obtain copies of the “do not call” listing by paying a fee to the commission in an amount not to exceed the costs incurred by the commission or its contractor in the presentation, production, and distribution of that listing. The commission shall offer a statewide listing and shall also offer listings of areas within the state. The determination of the number and definition of areas shall be within the discretion of the commission.
(b) In order to obtain copies of the “do not call” listing, a telephonic solicitor shall, in addition to paying the applicable fee, register with the commission, pay any registration fee as required by the commission, and provide all necessary documentation as required by the commission. Such telephonic solicitor, as defined in this Chapter, may maintain a bond in the amount of twenty thousand dollars in favor of the state of Louisiana to guarantee the payment of any administrative penalties assessed pursuant to this Chapter and file a copy of such bond with the commission.
(4)(a) All fees and penalties imposed pursuant to this Section shall be made payable to the Louisiana Public Service Commission for the administration of this Chapter and shall be dedicated to such purpose. The fees and penalties collected shall be remitted by the commission to the state treasury and credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund. After a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable within the fiscal year, the treasurer, prior to placing such remaining funds in the state general fund, shall pay an amount equal to the total amount of funds paid into the state treasury by the commission into a special statutorily dedicated fund account which is hereby created in the state treasury and designated as the “Telephonic Solicitation Relief Dedicated Fund Account”. Monies deposited into the account shall be categorized as fees and self-generated revenue for the sole purpose of reporting related to the executive budget, supporting documents, and general appropriation bills and shall be available for annual appropriation by the legislature.
(b) The monies in the Telephonic Solicitation Relief Dedicated Fund Account shall be used solely for the implementation, administration, and enforcement of this Chapter. Any surplus monies and interest remaining to the credit of the account on June thirtieth of each year shall remain to the credit of the account and no part thereof shall revert to the state general fund.
B. Repealed by Acts 2006, No. 418, §2.
C. Any telephonic solicitation made by a telephonic solicitor to a residential telephonic subscriber whose number appears on the commission’s then current “do not call” listing, or the National Do Not Call Registry, if applicable, is prohibited, except as authorized by this Chapter or the Federal Do Not Call Law.
Acts 2001, No. 40, §1, eff. May 24, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 836, §1; Acts 2004, No. 857, §1, eff. July 12, 2004; Acts 2006, No. 418, §§1, 2; Acts 2021, No. 114, §11, eff. July 1, 2022.