Introduction
Are you or your employees operating in the state of New York? If so, I'd encourage you to reach out to your state assembly representatives and show support for bill A 1250, a bill with bipartisan support backed by a mixture of 18 republican and democrat assembly members.
What's in this bill? You can read the very short amendment below, but essentially it modifies state law to remove prohibitions against telemarketing during a state of emergency when said telemarketing will not interfere with emergency response.
Overview
I don't know what's going on in NY, but it seems troublesome that, for one reason or another, the ENTIRE STATE has been under an emergency declaration for nearly 5 years now with, from what I can tell, no break. You can see the history on the state's website, but the reasons constantly change. Skimming the orders listed, what started with a declaration due to COVID has had reasons including gun violence, migrant population, health care staffing shortages, monkeypox, polio...you get the idea. As of the time of this posting, they are under a state of emergency until January 26, 2025 due to a storm that occurred at the end of December.
Why does this matter? Section 399 of the general business law in that state has prohibitions against telemarketing during a state of emergency. The idea behind this law would be to provide consumer protection/rights during times of crisis, especially if it would interfere with business operations. I remember when 9/11 happened – NO ONE was trying to call into that state for quite some time out of respect for the disaster, and even when calling in the state resumed, many businesses opted to give NYC a bit more time to mourn and work to rebuild. Likewise, during a natural disaster, calling into areas with diminished telephone and electricity capabilities could interfere with first responders or related disaster response. I would consider it common-sense legislation that restrictions only apply to business operations during times where said limits make sense.
Keep in mind that statewide emergency declarations are just that – statewide! I have spent a considerable amount of time in different parts of New York, and I can tell you that landscape, weather, crime, and general way of life in, say, Johnson City are vastly different compared to Manhattan. A sudden influx of migrants into The Bronx (sanctuary city) will not necessarily correlate to Cold Springs (non-sanctuary city). The current law applies a “one size fits all” approach to the entire state, versus narrowly applying only to areas in a true time of crisis.
When the original prohibition was enacted in 2019, I don’t think anyone foresaw that, just a year later, a 5 year (and counting) persistent state of emergency would exist in their state. As a result, telemarketing has been illegal for these 5 years. During such disasters, telemarketing would in no way interfere with COVID (or other viruses present in the state), gun violence, illegal migration, etc. In fact, telemarketers might use this opportunity to offer services that could assist with these disasters or, at the very least, provide peace of mind through offerings such as vaccination programs, home security systems, stronger insurance policies – these are just top of mind. As the economy has strained, debt relief services may be an invaluable offering to these residents. While declaring this state of emergency provides additional power for the governor and potential federal funding for the state, a consumer’s bank calling a customer to let them know that interest rates on their 30-year mortgage have dropped by 2% will in no way add to the aforementioned problems, nor will it prohibit emergency services for assisting! I could, however, put more money in the consumer’s pocket. Who would that not help?
The proposed bill fixes this gap. When there are substantial findings that telemarketing would in any way exasperate a disaster or hinder response efforts, then telemarketing is to be prohibited appropriately for a period not to exceed two weeks. If there is a need to extend said prohibition, it may be done in two-week increments, provided findings show this is necessary. It’s worth noting that the state has introduced similar legislation for the last two or three years, but it has yet to come to fruition.
Let’s make calling into New York legal again! If consumers don’t want unsolicited calls, there are no shortage of state and federal options for consumers to easily opt out.
Here, you can read not only the bill itself, but a very well written explanation of the justification for this proposition. I would recommend all my readers, if nothing else, reach out to thank the primary bill sponsor, Assemblymember Amy Paulin. Voters always carry more weight, however, so if you, your coworkers, clients, or employees are in that state, I would highly recommend you encourage them to make their voices heard!
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