Senate approves bill restricting use of automated calls

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After an election season of automated calls and constituent complaints, senators voted Tuesday to restrict how politicians campaign.

The Senate by voice vote approved a bill that would expand the state's no-call list to include "robo-calls" from automatic dialing machines. The list, which is managed and enforced by the attorney general, also would be expanded to cover cell phone calls and text messages and faxes, along with traditional land-line telephone calls.

Sponsoring Sen. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, said the bill expands protections for those who already have said they do not want to be called.

The bill would require a dialer to ask permission to play a recorded message and a declaration of who is paying for political solicitations. Those paying for the messages would also need to register with a state ethics commission or the Federal Election Commission.

Although popular with the people placing the calls because it gives politicians and telemarketers a cheap method to reach a lot of people, the automated calls have become increasingly unpopular with recipients. In 2006, the attorney general's office received 780 complaints about robo-calls.

Six states already have expanded their no-call lists to restrict calls in which the recipient can never speak to another human, and a federal appellate court upheld a Minnesota ban on automated dialers in 1994.

Someone responsible for using an automated dialer to call someone on the no-call list would face the same standard $5,000 fine for violations of that list.

Senators debating the bill recalled being annoyed by recorded messages at their homes before the 2006 elections from a slew of national political figures ranging from Rudy Guiliani to Hillary Clinton.

Supporters of the restrictions said some constituents have complained that despite placing their phone numbers on the state's no-call list, they have received 45 or more automatic phone calls a week.

Freshman Sen. Jeff Smith said during his election bid there were several rounds of recorded messages used against him.

"Some questioned my religion, some questioned my sexuality and another accused me of paying my girlfriend," said Smith, D-St. Louis.

The bill would include several exceptions to the autodialing restrictions. Those who have a business relationship with the caller within the past 180 days, school districts, notifications of Amber Alerts and phone book publishers seeking to confirm the receipt of the directory would still be permitted to use automatic dialers.

Sen. Tim Green said the measure's biggest weakness is that dialers can get around it just by blocking their number.

"Can you really enforce what we're trying to do, or is it just nice window-dressing?" he said.

Green, D-St. Louis, said he doubted there would be any way to really hold violators accountable.

"I just don't see any type of enforcement in this," he said.

Senators added several amendments during Tuesday's debate, including one that forces those using automated calls to register with the state and include who is paying for the calls.

That amendment is designed to make it harder to commission a certain polling technique that many lawmakers consider deceptive. The surveys, called push polls, have drawn the ire of many lawmakers because they often involve a pollster asking voters if they would continue to support a candidate or issue given a series of hypothetical facts. Those possible situations are often inflammatory and untrue.

The bill must gain second-round approval in the Senate before being sent to the House.