On February 12, 2024, the New Jersey Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1237 (“S1237”). S1237 focuses on telemarketing caller ID requirements. Specifically, it amends Section 10 of P.L.2003, c.76 to mandate that “a telemarketer shall not fail to transmit or cause to be transmitted the telephone number and, when made available by the telemarketer’s telephone company, the name of the telemarketer, to any caller identification service in use by a recipient of a telemarketing sales call.” S1237 now awaits the review and approval of the Consumer Affairs Committee.

The telemarketing caller ID bill builds on recent New Jersey “transparency” measures, such as the Seinfeld Bill, to give consumers further control over the calls that they receive from telemarketers. As readers of this blog know, the Seinfeld Bill requires telemarketers to disclose, within 30 seconds of their calls to consumers, their names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and the purpose of their calls.

As stated by Senator Beach, sponsor of the Senate Bill, the purpose of S1237 is to prevent telemarketers from concealing their identity thereby “empower[ing] consumers to choose which calls they would like to answer by making it clear who is actually on the other end.”

Impact of the Telemarketing Caller ID Bill

As states continue to enact laws aimed at restricting unwanted telemarketing calls, it is important that telemarketers ensure that their practices are up to date with applicable federal and state laws.

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