Pignatelli Hopes to Stem Torrent of Political Robo-Calls
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If you lived in Massachusetts the answer is most likely yes, yes and yes.
Bay Staters were bombarded by so-called "robo calls" in the days leading up the the special election for U.S. Senate as Democrats desperately grasped for voters and Republicans aggressively pushed back.
In the end, it was Wrentham Republican Scott Brown sailing to victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley, but the constant calls from both sides may have created a nonpartisan backlash from beleaguered voters.
"I had one woman tell me she had eight calls the day before the election and 16 calls on election day," said state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli on Tuesday. He's been hearing numerous complaints from citizens who found 10 or more messages sitting on their answering machines.
The Do Not Call Registry, administered by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, was established in response to residents' complaints over the proliferation of telephone solicitations (which always seemed to come at dinnertime). The law restricted most solicitations, but not those from not-for-profits or for political polls or surveys.
But with robo-calls becoming more prevalent and cheaper, it might be time to add them to the Do Not Call Registry, said Pignatelli. The Senate election on Jan. 19 was really "the straw that broke the camel's back," he said.
The lawmaker was meeting at the State House with colleagues today to consider draft language for the bill, which could be based on existing laws in other states such as Minnesota, which bans most robo-calls unless introduced by an actual person on the line.
Exempt from the statute would be automated calls such as school districts calling parents and employees, subscribers who have a personal relationship with the business, messages advising employees of work schedules or public safety announcements.
Pignatelli hoped to have a bill drafted and passed by July — before campaigning for the midterm elections begin.
After all, if the president's going to call you and "truly apologize for intruding on your day," shouldn't he at least be on the other end of the line?
