As used in this article, “telephonic seller” or “seller” means a person who, on their own behalf or through salespersons or through the use of an automatic dialing-announcing device, as defined in § 2871 of the Public Utilities Code, causes a telephone solicitation or attempted telephone solicitation to occur which meets the criteria specified in subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (d) and who is not exempted by subdivision (e), as follows:

(a) A telephone solicitation or attempted telephone solicitation wherein the telephonic seller initiates telephonic contact with a prospective purchaser and represents or implies one or more of the following:

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(1) That a prospective purchaser who buys one or more items will also receive additional or other items, whether or not of the same type as purchased, without further cost. For purposes of this subdivision, “further cost” does not include actual postage or common carrier delivery charges, if any.

(2) That a prospective purchaser will receive a prize or gift, if the person also encourages the prospective purchaser to do either of the following:

(A) Purchase or rent any goods or services.

(B) Pay any money, including, but not limited to, a delivery or handling charge.

(3) That a prospective purchaser is able to obtain any item or service at a price which the seller states or implies is below the regular price of the item or service offered. This paragraph shall not apply to retailers who, within the previous 12 months, have sold a majority of their goods or services through in-person sales at retail stores.

(4) That a prospective purchaser who buys office equipment or supplies will, because of some unusual event or imminent price increase, be able to buy these items at prices which are below those that are usually charged or will be charged for the items.

(5) That the seller is a person other than the person they are.

(6) That the items for sale are manufactured or supplied by a person other than the actual manufacturer or supplier.

(7) That the seller is offering to sell the prospective purchaser any gold, silver, or other metals, including coins, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or other stones, coal or other minerals, or any interest in oil, gas, or mineral fields, wells, or exploration sites, or any other investment opportunity of any type whatsoever.

(8) That the seller is offering to make a loan, or to arrange or assist in arranging a loan or to assist in providing information which may lead to the obtaining of a loan, unless no payment of any kind is made until the loan proceeds are disbursed to the borrower.

(9) That a prospective purchaser will receive a credit card, as defined in subdivision (a) of § 1747.02 of the Civil Code, if the purchaser pays an upfront or preapplication fee for the credit card to the telephonic seller.

(b) A solicitation or attempted solicitation which is made by telephone in response to inquiries generated by unrequested notifications sent by the seller to persons who have not previously purchased goods or services from the seller or who have not previously requested credit from the seller, to a prospective purchaser wherein the seller represents or implies to the recipient of the notification that any of the following applies to the recipient:

(1) That the recipient has in any manner been specially selected to receive the notification or the offer contained in the notification.

(2) That the recipient will receive a prize or gift if the recipient calls the seller.

(3) That if the recipient buys one or more items from the seller, the recipient will also receive additional or other items, whether or not of the same type as purchased, without further cost or at a cost which the seller states or implies is less than the regular price of such items.

However, this subdivision does not apply to the solicitation of sales by a catalog seller who periodically issues and delivers catalogs to potential purchasers by mail or by other means. This exception only applies if the catalog includes a written description or illustration and the sales price of each item of merchandise offered for sale, includes at least 24 full pages of written material or illustrations, is distributed in more than one state, and has an annual circulation of not less than 250,000 customers.

(c) A solicitation or attempted solicitation which is made by telephone in response to inquiries generated by advertisements on behalf of the telephonic seller wherein it is represented or implied that the seller is offering to sell to the prospective purchaser any gold, silver, or other metals, including coins, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or other stones, coal or other minerals, or any interest in oil, gas, or mineral fields, wells, or exploration sites, or any other investment opportunity of any type whatsoever.

(d) A solicitation or attempted solicitation which is made by telephone in response to inquiries generated by advertisements on behalf of the telephonic seller wherein it is represented or implied that the seller is offering to make a loan or to arrange or assist in arranging a loan or to assist in providing information which may lead to the obtaining of a loan, unless no payment of any kind is made until the loan proceeds are disbursed to the borrower.

(e) For purposes of this article, “telephonic seller” or “seller” does not include any of the following:

(1) A person offering or selling a security qualified under Section 25110, 25120, or 25130 of the Corporations Code or exempt from qualification under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 25100) of Part 2 of Division 1 of Title 4 of the Corporations Code. The fact that a notice claiming an exemption under the Corporate Securities Law of 1968 is filed with the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation does not create an exemption under this paragraph.

(2) A person licensed pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 10000) of Division 4, when the solicited transaction is governed by that law.

(3) A person licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3, when the solicited transaction is governed by that law.

(4) A person licensed or certificated pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 680) of Division 1 of the Insurance Code, including a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1621) thereof, when the solicited transaction is governed by that law.

(5) A person offering or selling a franchise registered pursuant to § 31110 of the Corporations Code or exempt from registration under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 31100) of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 4 of the Corporations Code. The fact that a notice claiming an exemption under the Franchise Investment Law is filed with the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation does not create an exemption under this paragraph.

(6) A person soliciting the sale of a seller assisted marketing plan, as defined in Title 2.7 (commencing with Section 1812.200) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, who has filed with the Attorney General the documents required by § 1812.203 of the Civil Code.

(7) A person primarily soliciting the sale of a newspaper of general circulation, as defined in Article 1 (commencing with Section 6000) of Chapter 1 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, a magazine, or membership in a book or record club whose program operates in conformity with the requirements of § 1584.5 of the Civil Code.

(8) A person soliciting business from prospective purchasers who have previously purchased from the business enterprise for which the person is calling.

(9) A person soliciting without the intent to complete and who does not complete the sales presentation during the telephone solicitation but completes the sales presentation at a later face-to-face meeting between the solicitor and the prospective purchaser. However, if a seller, directly following a telephone solicitation, causes an individual whose primary purpose it is to go to the prospective purchaser to collect the payment or deliver any item purchased, this exemption does not apply.

(10) Any supervised financial institution or parent, subsidiary, or subsidiary of parent thereof. As used in this paragraph, “supervised financial institution” means any commercial bank, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, industrial loan company, finance lender or broker, or insurer, provided that the institution is subject to supervision by an official or agency of this state or of the United States.

(11) A person soliciting the sale of a preneed funeral arrangement regulated by Article 9 (commencing with Section 7735) of Chapter 12 of Division 3.

(12) A person licensed pursuant to Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 9600) of Division 3 when acting pursuant to that licensure.

(13) A person soliciting the sale of services provided by a cable television system licensed or franchised pursuant to § 53066 of the Government Code or any other authority.

(14) A person or an affiliate of a person whose business is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission.

(15) A person soliciting the sale of a commodity pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 58601) of Division 21 of the Food and Agricultural Code, if the solicitation neither intends to, nor actually results in, a sale which costs the purchaser in excess of one hundred dollars ($100).

(16) An issuer or subsidiary of an issuer that has a security listed on a national securities exchange if the exchange has been certified by rule or order of the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation under subdivision (o) of § 25100 of the Corporations Code. A subsidiary of an issuer that qualifies for exemption under this paragraph is not itself exempt unless not less than 60 percent of the voting power of its shares is owned by the qualifying issuer or issuers.

(17) A person soliciting exclusively the sale of telephone answering services to be provided by that person or that person’s employer.

(18) A person soliciting a transaction regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission if the person is registered or temporarily licensed for this activity with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), and the registration or license has not expired or been suspended or revoked.

(19) A person who sells coins or bullion at a price which is not more than 25 percent more than the price at which the seller is concurrently buying the same coins or bullion, if: (A) the seller has had a retail location in California from which they have been selling coins or bullion to the public in person for at least three years; (B) the telephonic solicitations are not the person’s primary business and sales made telephonically make up less than 20 percent of the person’s total retail sales; and (C) the person claiming an exemption pursuant to this subdivision complies with Section 17511.3, as applicable, and subdivision (p) of Section 17511.4.

(20) A person licensed pursuant to Division 1.2 (commencing with Section 2000) of the Financial Code to engage in the business of money transmission if the license has not expired or been suspended or revoked.

(21) A person licensed as a residential mortgage lender or servicer pursuant to Division 20 (commencing with Section 50000) of the Financial Code, when acting under the authority of that license.

(22) A corporation that meets all of the following conditions:

(A) It has been exempt from taxation under Section 23701e of the Revenue and Taxation Code for a minimum of 10 years.

(B) It has maintained its principal purpose for a minimum of 10 years.

(C) It has been incorporated in the state for a minimum of 25 years.

(f) In any civil proceeding alleging a violation of this article, the burden of proving an exemption or an exception from a definition is upon the person claiming it, and in any criminal proceeding alleging a violation of this article, the burden of producing evidence to support a defense based upon an exemption or an exception from a definition is upon the person claiming it.

(g) Compliance with this article does not satisfy nor substitute for any requirements for license, registration, or regulation mandated by other laws.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 452, Sec. 15. (SB 1498) Effective January 1, 2023.)