9 V.S.A. § 2464a
§ 2464a. Prohibited telephone solicitations
(a)
Definitions. As used in this section:
(1)
"Customer" means a customer, residing or located in Vermont, of a company providing telecommunications
service as defined in subdivision 203(5) of Title 30.
(2)
"Federal functional regulator" means a federal functional regulator as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(2).
(3)
"Financial institution" means a financial institution as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6809(3).
(4)
"Tax-exempt organization" means an organization described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue
Service Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)).
(5)
"Telemarketer" means any telephone solicitor. However, "telemarketer" does not include any telephone
solicitor who is otherwise registered or licensed with, or regulated or chartered by, the secretary of state,
the public service board, the department of banking, insurance, securities, and health care administration or
the department of taxes, or is a financial institution subject to regulations adopted pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §
6804(a) by a federal functional regulator. Telephone solicitors registered with the department of taxes to
collect Vermont income withholding, sales and use, or meals and rooms tax, but not registered with any other
agency listed in this subdivision, shall provide to the secretary of state an address and agent for the
purpose of submitting to the jurisdiction of the Vermont courts in any action brought for violations of this
section.
(6)
"Telephone preference service" means the do-not-call list maintained by The Direct Marketing
Association, Inc., or a comparable list maintained by a successor organization or a federal agency.
(7)
"Telephone solicitation":
(A)
means the solicitation by telephone of a customer for the purpose of encouraging the customer to
contribute to an organization which is not a tax-exempt organization, or to purchase, lease, or otherwise
agree to pay consideration for money, goods or services; and
(B)
does not include:
(i)
telephone calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called customer;
(ii)
telephone calls made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt organization, an organization incorporated
as a nonprofit organization with the state of Vermont, or an organization in the process of applying for
tax-exempt status or nonprofit status;
(iii)
telephone calls made by a person not regularly engaged in the activities listed in subdivision
(A) of this subdivision (7); or
(iv)
telephone calls made to a person with whom the telephone solicitor has an established business
relationship.
(8)
"Telephone solicitor" means any person placing telephone solicitations, or hiring others, on an hourly,
commission or independent contractor basis, to conduct telephone solicitations.
(b)
Prohibitions.
(1)
No telemarketer shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont without having
first registered in accordance with section 2464b of this title.
(2)
No telemarketer shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont which has been on
the telephone preference service list quarterly update for at least 60 days. A telemarketer is not in
violation of this section if the telemarketer obtained the quarterly update, but called the number as a result
of a good faith error.
(3)
No telephone solicitor shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont which the
customer requested, at least 45 days previously, be on the telephone solicitor's do-not-call list maintained
in accordance with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
(c)
Violation. A violation of this section shall constitute a violation of section 2453 of this title. Each
prohibited telephone solicitation shall constitute a separate violation. In considering a civil penalty for
violations of subdivision (b)(3) of this section, the court may consider, among other relevant factors, the
extent to which a telephone solicitor maintained and complied with procedures designed to ensure compliance
with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
(d)
Criminal Penalties. A telemarketer who makes a telephone solicitation in violation of subdivision (b)(1)
of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 18 months or fined not more than $ 10,000.00, or both.
It shall be an affirmative defense, for a telemarketer with five or fewer employees, that the telemarketer did
not know, and did not consciously avoid knowing, that Vermont has a requirement of registration of
telemarketers. Each telephone call shall constitute a separate solicitation under this section. This section
shall not be construed to limit a person's liability under any other civil or criminal law.
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Compliance Guide:
Registration Made Easy.
- Online State Registration wizard for call campaign licensing.
- Wizard makes finding State DNC exemptions easy.
- Quickly answer questions with included regulatory guide.
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