§ 2464a. Prohibited telephone solicitations
(a) Definitions. As used in this section, section 2464b, and section 2464c of this title:
(1) “Customer” means a customer, residing or located in Vermont, of a company providing
telecommunications service as defined in 30 V.S.A. § 203(5).
(2) “Caller identification information” means information a caller identification service
provides regarding the name and number of the person calling.
(3) “Caller identification service” means a service that allows a subscriber of the service
to have the telephone number and, where available, the name of the calling party transmitted
contemporaneously with the telephone call and displayed on a device in or connected
to the subscriber’s telephone.
(4) “Federal functional regulator” means a federal functional regulator as defined in
15 U.S.C. § 6809(2).
(5) “Financial institution” means a financial institution as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(3).
(6) “Tax-exempt organization” means an organization described in Section 501(c) of the
Internal Revenue Service Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)).
(7) “Telemarketer” means any telephone solicitor. However, “telemarketer” does not include
any telephone solicitor who is otherwise registered or licensed with, or regulated
or chartered by, the Secretary of State, the Public Utility Commission, the Department
of Financial Regulation, or the Department of Taxes or is a financial institution
subject to regulations adopted pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 6804(a) by a federal functional regulator. Telephone solicitors registered with the Department
of Taxes to collect Vermont income withholding, sales and use, or meals and rooms
tax, but not registered with any other agency listed in this subdivision, shall provide
to the Secretary of State an address and agent for the purpose of submitting to the
jurisdiction of the Vermont courts in any action brought for violations of this section.
(8) “Telephone solicitation”:
(A) means the solicitation by telephone of a customer for the purpose of encouraging the
customer to contribute to an organization that is not a tax-exempt organization, or
to purchase, lease, or otherwise agree to pay consideration for money, goods, or services;
and
(B) does not include:
(i) telephone calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called customer;
(ii) telephone calls made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt organization, an organization
incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the State of Vermont, or an organization
in the process of applying for tax-exempt status or nonprofit status;
(iii) telephone calls made by a person not regularly engaged in the activities listed in
subdivision (A) of this subdivision (8); or
(iv) telephone calls made to a person with whom the telephone solicitor has an established
business relationship.
(9) “Telephone solicitor” means any person placing telephone solicitations, or hiring
others, on an hourly, commission, or independent contractor basis to conduct telephone
solicitations.
(b) Prohibition; Caller Identification Information.
(1) No telemarketer shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont
without having first registered in accordance with section 2464b of this title.
(2) No person shall make any telephone call to a telephone number in Vermont that violates
the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Rule, 16 C.F.R. subdivision 310.4(b)(1)(iii),
or the Federal Communication Commission’s Do Not Call Rule, 47 C.F.R. subdivision
64.1200(c)(2) and subsection (d), as amended from time to time.
(3)(A) A person who places a telephone call to make a telephone solicitation or to induce
a charitable contribution, donation, or gift of money or other thing of value shall
transmit or cause to be transmitted to a caller identification service in use by the
recipient of the call:
(i) the caller’s telephone number; and
(ii) if made available by the caller’s carrier, the caller’s name.
(B) Notwithstanding subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3), a caller may substitute for
its own name and number the name and the number, which is answered during regular
business hours, of the person on whose behalf the caller places the call.
(c) Violation. A violation of this section shall constitute a violation of section 2453 of this title. Each prohibited telephone call shall constitute a separate violation. In considering
a civil penalty for violations of subdivision (b)(2) of this section, the court may
consider, among other relevant factors, the extent to which a telephone solicitor
maintained and complied with procedures designed to ensure compliance with the rules
of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
(d) Criminal Penalties. A telemarketer who makes a telephone solicitation in violation of subdivision (b)(1)
of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 18 months or fined not more
than $10,000.00, or both. It shall be an affirmative defense, for a telemarketer with
five or fewer employees, that the telemarketer did not know and did not consciously
avoid knowing that Vermont has a requirement of registration of telemarketers. Each
telephone call shall constitute a separate solicitation under this section. This section
shall not be construed to limit a person’s liability under any other civil or criminal
law. (Added 2001, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2003, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 7, 2004; 2017, No. 66, § 1, eff. June 8, 2017.)