First Reading

              ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH UNIT
Volume 23, No. 3
2010 Primary Election Winners..................6
Executive Officials....................................6
Senators.....................................................7
Representatives.........................................8
M
idwestern Leadership Institute.................2
Abstracts of reports required to be
filed with General Assembly.................12
Inside this Issue
Februar y 2010
(continued on p. 2)
Many States Restrict “Robo-Calls”
During an election season, some candidates and political committees use “robo-calls” to contact voters. Robo-calls use an automated system to store or produce telephone numbers for dialing and play a prerecorded message. Compared to television and print media, the calls are a relatively inexpensive way to communicate. But oppo­nents of the calls charge that they are annoying and some­times misleading.
A federal regulation requires that automated political calls identify the caller (but not the entity that paid for the call) and give the caller’s telephone number. Many states put tighter limitations on such calls. Some state laws limiting such calls have been challenged in court on free speech grounds, but it does not appear that any such laws have been overturned on that basis.
Illinois
Illinois requires that a political committee that pays for a telephone communication that mentions a candidate’s name, or advocates or opposes a public policy, must en­sure that the committee’s name is identified in the call (except for polls). Another law regulates the use of au­tomatic dialing equipment; but calls made on behalf of a political organization are exempt, except for a provision that prohibits such equipment from blocking caller ID.
Other States
Arkansas and Wyoming prohibit automated political calls.
Eight states require a live operator to obtain the called person’s consent before playing the recorded message, un­less the person has made a prior agreement to receive the call:
California Mississippi
Georgia Montana
Indiana New Jersey
Minnesota North Dakota
Such consent is required when the call is for a poll in Kentucky, Maryland, and Tennessee, or for fundraising in Utah. Iowa requires that a live opera­tor speak in each fundraising call, and South Carolina requires that a live operator assist in each automated call.
Thirteen states require disclosure during an auto­mated call of the person or entity paying for the call or for whom it is made (except polling calls in Florida and Louisiana):
California Louisiana New York
Connecticut Minnesota North Carolina
Florida Mississippi North Dakota
Idaho Nebraska Virginia
Indiana
Some states require such disclosure in more limited cir­cumstances, such as if the call is for a political poll.
Six states require persons intending to make automated calls to get a permit from the state or file the name of a registered agent located in the state: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, and Tennessee. California and Mississippi require such persons to get approval from the local phone company. New Hampshire requires a