UPDATE 6/23/2021
Governor Cuomo announced today that he would allow the state of emergency to expire on June 24, 2021.
UPDATE 5/27/2021
On May 25, Governor Cuomo extended the state of emergency through June 24, 2021.
UPDATE 4/22/2021
On April 25, Governor Cuomo extended the state of emergency through May 25, 2021.
UPDATE 3/30/2021
On March 26, Governor Cuomo once again extended the state of emergency until April 25, 2021.
UPDATE 3/1/2021
On February 26, Governor Cuomo once again extended the state of emergency until March 28, 2021.
UPDATE 1/4/2021
On December 30, Governor Cuomo further extended the state of emergency through January 29, 2021.
UPDATE 12/15/2020
As of December 13, 2020, the COVID-19 state of emergency declaration in the state of New York has been extended through January 12, 2021.
UPDATE 10/7/2020
The New York state of emergency due to COVID-19 continues its expected monthly renewal. The emergency is now set to expire November 3, 2020, but we fully expect it to be extended another 30 days after that and possibly well into 2021.
UPDATE 9/2/2020
New York governor Andrew Cuomo continues to extend the state of emergency declaration related to the Covid-19 crisis, issuing an executive order to that effect on August 28, 2020. As long as the state of emergency remains in effect, calls are prohibited by the statute. While the governor keeps setting a new date, the state of emergency is inarguably indefinite. Should the state of emergency end, we will send a notification to all subscribers.
On Saturday, March 7, New York governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency due to the spread of the coronavirus in the state. The primary purpose of this declaration is provide local governments quicker access to funding and resources to combat the spread of the virus. A somewhat unusual but significant side effect is that it triggers restrictions on sales calls thanks to the state’s new telemarketing bill.
Cuomo signed Senate Bill 4020 into law in December as part of a spate of telemarketing regulations, including The Nuisance Call Act. As explained on the governor’s website, it includes a provision that prohibits telemarketers from “knowingly making unsolicited sales calls to any individual in a city, county, town or village during a declared state of emergency.” Business-to-Business (B2B) calls are also prohibited by this law. The only exceptions are when callers have consent to contact the called party, when there is an Established Business Relationship (EBR), and political and survey calls.
The text of the declaration says that it will remain in effect until September 7, 2020. While it may be possible that the state of emergency is lifted before then, it is difficult to predict what will happen.