CHAPTER 61.1
UNSOLICITED TELEPHONE SALES CALLS

(1) "Consumer" means any individual who is a resident of this state and a prospective recipient of consumer goods or services;

(2) "Consumer goods or services" means any article or service that is purchased, leased, exchanged or received primarily for personal, family or household purposes, and includes, but is not limited to, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and other financial products;

(3) "Department" means the department of attorney general;

(4) "Doing business in this state" means conducting telephonic sales calls (i) from a location in this state; or (ii) from a location outside of this state to consumers residing in this state or any person or entity required to register pursuant to section 5-61-3;

(5) "Marketing or sales solicitation" means the initiation of a telephone call or message to encourage the purchase or rental of or investment in, property, goods or services, that is transmitted to any consumer, but does not include a telephone call or message: (i) to any consumer with that consumer's prior express written or verbal invitation or permission; (ii) by or on behalf of a nonprofit organization; or (iii) to a consumer in response to a visit made by such consumer to an establishment selling, leasing or exchanging consumer goods or services at a fixed location;

(6) "Telephonic sales call" means a call made by a telephone solicitor to a consumer for the purpose of: (i) engaging in a marketing or sales solicitation; (ii) soliciting an extension of credit for consumer goods or services; or (iii) obtaining information that will or may be used for marketing or sales solicitation or exchange of or extension of credit for consumer goods or services;

(7) "Telephone solicitor" means any individual, association, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof, doing business in this state that makes or causes to be made a telephonic sales call;

(8) "Unsolicited telephonic sales call" means any telephonic sales call other than a call made: (i) in response to an express written or verbal request of the consumer called; (ii) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, payment or performance of which has not been completed at the time of the call; or (iii) to an existing customer, unless such customer has stated to the telephone solicitor that such customer no longer wishes to receive the telephonic sales calls of such telephone solicitor; and

(9) "Caller identification service or device" means any telephone service or device that permits a consumer to see the telephone number of incoming calls.

5-61.1-2. No sales solicitation call list. - (a) The department shall establish and maintain a "no sales solicitation call" listing of consumers who do not wish to receive unsolicited telephonic sales calls. The department may contract with a private vendor to establish and maintain such listing provided the private vendor has maintained national "no sales solicitation calls" listings for more than two (2) years, and the contract requires the vendor to provide the no sales solicitation call's listing in a printed hard copy format and in any other format required by the department. The listing shall be at no cost to the consumer and shall be updated quarterly. The consumer may indicate any exclusion for their listing on a form provided by the department.

(b) The list shall be purchased by every telephone solicitor doing business in this state and registered pursuant to section 5-61-3 for a fee determined by the department. The list shall be updated within thirty (30) days of the end of each quarter.

(c) The department shall provide notice to consumers of the establishment of a "no sales solicitation calls" listing. Any consumer who wishes to be included on such listing shall notify the department in such a manner and such times as the department may prescribe.

5-61.1-3. Directories. - (a) Any person who obtains the name, residential address or telephone number of any consumer from published telephone directories or from any other source and republishes or complies such information, electronically or otherwise, and sells or offers to sell such publication or compilation to telephone solicitors for marketing or sales solicitation purposes, shall exclude from any such publication or compilation, and from the database used to prepare such publication or compilation, the name, address and telephone number or numbers of any consumer if the consumer's name and telephone number or numbers appear in the then current quarterly "no sales solicitation calls" listing made available by the department under section 5-61.1-2.

(b) This section does not apply to any telephone company or its affiliates for the sole purpose of compiling, publishing or distributing telephone directories or causing the compilation, publication or distribution of telephone directories or providing directory assistance for the sole purpose of compiling, publishing or distributing telephone directories for such telephone company pursuant to an agreement or other arrangement with such telephone company.

5-61.1-4. Prohibitions - Penalties. - (a) No telephone solicitor shall make or cause to be made any unsolicited telephonic sales calls to any consumer if the consumer's name and telephone number or numbers appear on the then current "no sales solicitation calls" listing made available by the department.

(b) Any violation of the provisions of subsection (a) shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under chapter 6-13.1 of the general laws and shall be subject to the penalties therein and/or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for a first violation and not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a second or subsequent violation except that no liability shall be incurred under this section if:

(1) such telephone solicitor established and implemented written procedures and trained its employees to follow such procedures to comply with subsection (a);

(2) such telephone solicitor deleted from its call list any listing of a consumer on the then current quarterly "no sales solicitation calls" listing; and

(3) such call was made inadvertently.

(c) No telephone solicitor shall intentionally cause to be installed or shall intentionally use any blocking device or service to circumvent a consumer's use of a caller identification service or device, or use any phone number that will not receive an incoming call.

(d) The provisions in subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) telephone calls made in response to the express request of, or an advertisement by the person called;

(2) telephone calls made in connection with the collection of a debt or the offer by a creditor to the person called of an extension of credit to pay a delinquent obligation owed by the person called to the creditor;

(3) telephone calls that the telephone subscriber exempted from the coverage of the "do not call" list as provided in section 5-61.1-2(a).

(4) For purposes of this section, "telephone solicitor" does not include any of the following:

(i) Any supervised financial institution or parent, subsidiary, or affiliate. As used in this paragraph, "supervised financial institution" means any commercial bank, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, industrial loan company, personal property broker, consumer finance lender, commercial finance lender, or insurer; provided, that the institution is subject to supervision by an official or agency of this state or of the United States.

(ii) A person or affiliate of a person whose business is regulated by the public utilities commission.

(e) The exemptions contained in section (d)(4)(i) and (ii) shall apply only if the telephone call is made between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for holidays.

(1) an order to enjoin the violation;

(2) a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation and up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a second and each subsequent violation;

(3) court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees; and

(4) any other relief that the court deems proper.

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