Contact:
Ethnie Groves, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2156
State’s No Call List Should Be Protected Against Weaker Federal List
Governor Jim Doyle today urged citizens to register their support for Wisconsin’s No-Call list in response to a challenge of states’ ability to regulate telemarketing.
A coalition of telemarketing firms and non-profit corporations who use telemarketers have petitioned the FCC to declare that states have no authority to regulate interstate telemarketing. Such a declaration would allow telemarketers to avoid state regulation merely by calling from outside the state, which would effectively end state regulation of telemarketing.
Telemarketers are once again asking the federal government to strip Wisconsin’s No-Call law of important provisions that protect more than 80 percent of state residents, Governor Doyle said. If the most recent petition is granted, Wisconsin will lose its right to protect citizens from intrusive telemarketing calls.
Earlier this year, the Consumer Banker’s Association (CBA) petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to declare that Wisconsin’s Do Not Call Law is pre-empted by the weaker federal No-Call law.
“Our No-Call law is the strongest in the nation – and we want it to stay that way,” Governor Doyle said. “If we want to continue to keep our home phones quiet, we must take a strong stand and tell the FCC to leave our law alone. We need to make certain that the FCC puts consumers, not big telemarketers, first.
In the past two weeks, more than 370 Wisconsin residents have told the Federal Communications Commission to leave Wisconsin’s threatened No Call List alone, but more voices need to be heard before the July 29th deadline for comment.
If you think that Wisconsin’s No Call List has improved the quality of your life, please contact the FCC,” Governor Doyle said.
To file comments with the FCC, go to: http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/.
For more information, call the toll free hotline of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: 1-800-422-7128.
