H. B. 2590
(By Delegates Manuel and Doyle)
[Introduced February 2, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-four-e relating to creating a crime for use of
automated dialing or push button system to solicit sales,
leases or rentals, offer gifts or prizes, conduct polls, or
request survey information.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section designated section
twenty-four-e to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-24e. Use of automated dialing or push button, etc., system
to solicit sales, leases or rentals, offer gifts or prizes, conduct polls, or request survey
information.
(a) A person may not utilize an automated dialing or
push-button tone-activated address signaling system with a
prerecorded message for the purpose of soliciting persons to
purchase, lease, or rent goods, services, offering a gift or
prize, conducting a poll, or requesting survey information where
results are to be used directly for the purpose of soliciting
persons to purchase, lease, or rent goods or services.
(b) The sender of an automated dialing, push-button, or
tone-activated address signaling call shall disconnect the
prerecorded message machine from the recipient's telephone line
five seconds after the termination of the call by either the
person calling or the person called.
(c) This section does not apply to:
(1) An agency of federal, state, or local government that
uses automated dialing prerecorded message machine for emergency
purposes; or
(2) Any person who has a preexisting business relationship
with, or the consent of, the person called.
(d) A person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars for the first offense and not
exceeding five thousand dollars for each additional or subsequent
offense.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a crime for use
of automated dialing or push button system to solicit sales,
leases or rentals, offer gifts or prizes, conduct polls, or
request survey information.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.