WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2022 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4703

By Delegates Griffith, Bates, Zukoff, Storch, B. Ward, and Kimble

[Introduced February 15, 2022; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §46A-6F-112 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to telemarketing; and requiring that telemarketers telephone calls include the area code and correct point of origin.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 6F. TELEMARKETING.

§46A-6F-112. Telemarketing solicitation.

(a) “Telemarketing solicitation” means and includes any communication between a telemarketer and a prospective purchaser for the purpose of selling or attempting to sell the purchaser any consumer goods or services, if it is intended by the telemarketer that an agreement to purchase the consumer goods or services will be made after any of the following events occur:

(1) The telemarketer makes an unsolicited telephone call to a consumer, attempting to sell consumer goods or services to the consumer, when the consumer has not previously expressed an interest to the telemarketer in purchasing, investing in, or obtaining information regarding, the consumer goods or services offered by the telemarketer; or

(2) The telemarketer communicates with a consumer by any means and invites or directs the consumer to respond by any means to the telemarketer’s communications, and the telemarketer intends to enter into an agreement with the consumer for the purchase of consumer goods or services at some time during the course of one or more subsequent telephone communications with the consumer.

(b) For purposes of this article, “communication” means a written or oral notification or advertisement transmitted from a telemarketer to a consumer by any means.

Any telemarketer conducting business in West Virginia by making unsolicited telephone calls shall ensure that the area code and point of origin of the telephone call appear on the caller identification of the potential consumer.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that telemarketers telephone calls include the area code and correct point of origin that appear on potential consumers caller I.D.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading, or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added. requiring that telemarketers telephone calls include the area code and correct point of origin.