II
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2957
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2014
Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To limit the disturbance to American families caused by electioneering phone calls by expanding the National Do Not Call Registry to include Super PACs and other third-party political groups, to prohibit robo-calls to Americans who have listed their telephone numbers on the Registry, and to prohibit push-polling.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Do Not Disturb Act of 2014
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Prohibition of unsolicited calls from Super PACs to individuals listed on the National Do Not Call Registry
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall issue a final rule, pursuant to its rulemaking authority under section 3 of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6102), that amends section 310.4(b)(1)(iii) of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, to include, in the list of persons subject to the prohibitions set forth in such section—
political committees (as defined in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101)) that accept donations or contributions that do not comply with the contribution limits or source prohibitions under such Act (commonly known as Super PACs); and
social welfare organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that are engaged in political activities.
Prohibition of computer-dialed recorded messages to individuals listed on the National Do Not Call Registry
Section 3(a)(3) of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6102(a)(3)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon;
in subparagraph (B), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon;
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
a prohibition on computer-dialed telephone calls with prerecorded messages (other than calls made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) to telephone numbers that are listed on the National Do Not Call Registry;
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Push-polling
In general
Section 3(a)(3) of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, as amended by section 3, is further amended by inserting after subparagraph (C), as added by section 3(4), the following:
a prohibition on push-polling;
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Push-Polling defined
Section 3 of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6102) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Defined term
As used in subsection (a)(3), the term push-polling means a telephone call—
to a voter on behalf of, in support of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office;
in which the caller asks questions related to opposing candidates for public office that state, imply, or convey information about the candidates character, status, or political stance or record; or
that is conducted in a manner that is likely to be construed by the voter to be a survey or poll to gather statistical data for entities or organizations acting independent of any particular political party, candidate, or interest group.
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Rulemaking
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the amendments made by this Act.