WELL THE “DETER OBNOXIOUS, NEFARIOUS, AND OUTRAGEOUS TELEPHONE CALLS ACT” –OR THE ‘‘DO NOT CALL ACT OF 2023’’–IS BACK IN THE U.S. HOUSE.

We’ve seen this bill before, of course. But this time it feels a bit different. I’m hearing preliminarily that there might be a smidge more room for this one to breathe, and it comes early in the session.
Still too soon to know for sure if this one has legs, but R.E.A.C.H. will be weighing in on it shortly. Here is the interesting part:

(1) Any person who wilfully and knowingly violates the DO NOT CALL ACT shall be imprisoned for not more than 1 year.

(2) Any person who wilfully and knowingly violates the DO NOT CALL ACT shall be imprisoned for not more than 3 years, fined, or both, if:

(A) the person has previously been convicted

(B) the offense involved initiating more than
(i) 100,000 calls in a 24-hour period;
(ii) 1,000,000 calls in a 30-day period; or
(iii) 10,000,000 calls in a 1-year period;

(C) the person committed the offense with the intent to use the calls in furtherance of a felony or conspiracy to commit a felony; or

(D) the offense caused loss to 1 or more 2 persons aggregating $5,000 or more in value 3 during any 1-year period.

Also here is the first paragraph of the grandstanding press release of the bill’s primary sponsor:
Today, Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08) and Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) reintroduced the bipartisan, Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls (DO NOT
Call) Act in the House of Representatives.
This legislation would help deter robocalls by creating stricter penalties for companies and individuals who engage in the intentional harassment of consumers.

Email us at ask@prescott-martini.com to receive a full copy of the bill.

My two cents: They say that doing the same thing over and over again is the definition of insanity. The TCPA already has insane penalties. Yet robocalls continue. Because the TCPA does not work. So rather than do something that would, Congress just wants to keep heaping nonsense on top of the TCPA rather than actually get to the solution.
Eric Troutman