Senate Approves Legislation to Make Do Not Call Registration Permanent

The State Senate has approved legislation that would eliminate the need for Pennsylvania consumers to re-register on the "Do Not Call" registry every five years, according to Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), who supported the measure.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 1116 unanimously and sent it to the House of Representatives for consideration.

"Under this legislation, a consumer's number would remain in Pennsylvania's "Do Not Call" registry until they asked for it to be removed," Scarnati said. "People will no longer have to re-register every five years."

The Do Not Call Registry has been extremely popular among consumers, who were tired of unwanted and intrusive calls. In 2002, Pennsylvanians were first given the opportunity to avoid these calls by registering for the Do Not Call list. More than one million citizens registered in a single two-week period that year, and millions more have registered through the past few years.

"If this bill becomes law, Pennsylvanians will have permanent relief from unwanted telemarketing calls," Scarnati said.

He added that the Pennsylvania Do Not Call Registry returns part of any fines collected to consumers who file complaints -- up to $100. So far more than $80,000 has been distributed in that way.

To register your home or cell phone numbers on the Do Not Call List, please visit www.nocallsplease.com.