MN Anti-Robocalling Bill Passes 1st State Senate Committee

ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that seeks to crack down on illegal robocalls.

Republican Sen. Rich Draheim's legislation would commission the attorney general's office to sue and recover a civil penalty from violators of the state's law against robocalling.

"There are over 50 billion robocalls every year in the United States," Draheim said during the committee hearing.

Draheim said people don’t realize how much it has influenced behavior, citing a 2020 Pew Research study that found only 19 percent of adults answer calls from unknown numbers.

The senator said that trend is concerning and could cause problems when someone is in an emergency situation.

The bill caps civil penalties at $100,000. Sen. Ron Latz suggested that the cap be increased to deter multi-million dollar robocalling operations.

The bill was passed and referred to the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.