Present law provides the following concerning telephone solicitation:
(1) Telephone solicitors must identify themselves and the organization they represent at the beginning of the call;
(2) Solicitation calls must not be made between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., without the permission of the residential subscriber;
(3) Solicitors are prohibited from knowingly utilize any method to block or otherwise circumvent a residential subscriber's use of a caller identification service;
(4) Solicitors are prohibited from calling residential subscribers who join the Do Not Call Register;
(5) Persons making telephone solicitations to residential subscribers are required to pay an annual $500 registration fee to defray regulatory and enforcement expenses; and
(6) A telephone solicitor who violates (1) – (5) may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation.
This bill applies the provisions described in (1) – (6) to text message solicitation. For purposes of this bill, text message solicitation:
(1) Means a text communication over a telephone originating from a location within this state that:
(A) Promotes or encourages, directly or indirectly, the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services;
(B) Refers a residential subscriber to another person for the purpose of promoting or encouraging the purchase of, rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services; or
(C) Requests a charitable contribution, except as provided for in (2)(B); and
(2) Does not include a text communication to a residential subscriber:
(A) With the subscriber's prior express permission;
(B) If the communication is made by a bona fide member, volunteer, or direct employee of a 501(c) not-for-profit organization as long as the voice communication is made to request a charitable contribution to be used solely for the not-for-profit organization's exempt purpose;
(C) Who is an existing customer, including a residential subscriber with whom the person or entity making a text message solicitation has had a prior relationship within the prior 12 months; or
(D) If the communication is made on behalf of a business and the following conditions are met:
(i) A direct employee of the business makes the text communication;
(ii) The communication is not made as part of a telecommunications marketing plan;
(iii) The business has a reasonable belief that the specific person who is receiving the text communication is considering purchasing the service or product sold or leased by the business and the text communication is specifically directed to the person;
(iv) The business does not sell or engage in telemarketing services; and
(v) The business does not make more than a total of three such text communications in any one calendar week.
ON MARCH 6, 2023, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 868, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 revises the definition of a "text message solicitation" to mean a communication over a telephone originating within this state or elsewhere, not only those originating within this state.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 65-4-401, 65-4-402, 65-4-403, 65-4-404, 65-4-405, 65-4-405(b)(5), 65-4-408
Amended with SA0066 -- 03/06/2023: 65-4-401, 65-4-402, 65-4-403, 65-4-404, 65-4-405, 65-4-405(b)(5), 65-4-408