Politics & Government
Attorney General Applauds Passage Of Bill To Limit Robocalls
Bill seeks to improve ways to identify calls and punish violators. Bill approved by both houses, now awaits President's signature
OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that seeks to cut down on robocalls has now passed Congress, and Oklahoma's Attorney General has released a statement applauding members of both houses for their efforts in delivering the legislation to the White House for signature.
Senate bill S.151, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act requires service providers to verify incoming calls are legitimate before they reach consumers, and gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) an increased ability to impose and collect fines for illegal calls. Violators could be fined up to $10,000.
Attorney General Hunter said he is encouraged to see this important piece of legislation pass with bipartisan support.
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“I commend members of the House of Representatives and the Senate for working together in getting the TRACED Act to the president’s desk,” Attorney General Hunter said. “One of the biggest consumer complaints I hear from Oklahomans is about the volume of robocalls they receive. This legislation will have a tremendous impact in reversing that trend and will better protect consumers. I look forward to continued partnership with the FCC once the bill is signed into law.”
Part of the legislation requires attorneys general to partner with the FCC to form an interagency task force to study how government tackles the issue of robocall violations in three specific ways.
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First, the task force will determine how federal law and budgetary constraints inhibit enforcement of the robocall violations. Second, the task force will seek to identify policies and programs that can increase coordination between federal departments and states to better prevent violations of the robocall laws, and last, the task force will work to similarly identify international policies and programs that can improve coordination between countries in enforcing robocall violation laws.
According to the call blocking company YouMail, Oklahomans received 59.3 million robocalls in November alone, a rate of more than 82,000 calls per hour.
The legislation was presented to the President on December 20 and now awaits his signature.
An overview of the legislation can be found at: https://bit.ly/2EQIxVP.