[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1959 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1959

  To criminalize the knowing use of commercial robocalls without the 
prior express written consent of the recipient, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 27, 2014

  Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To criminalize the knowing use of commercial robocalls without the 
prior express written consent of the recipient, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Quell Unnecessary, Intentional, and 
Encroaching Telephone Calls Act of 2014'' or the ``QUIET Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL ROBOCALLS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 113A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2328. Commercial robocalls
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `automatic telephone dialing system' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 227(a) of the Communications 
        Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(a));
            ``(2) the term `commercial robocall' means a telephone call 
        made for the purpose of soliciting or encouraging the purchase 
        or rental of, or investment or enrollment in, property, goods, 
        or services, using an automatic telephone dialing system or an 
        artificial or prerecorded voice;
            ``(3) the term `prior express written consent' means, with 
        respect to the recipient of a commercial robocall, an agreement 
        in writing that--
                    ``(A) includes the signature of the recipient;
                    ``(B) clearly authorizes the seller to initiate or 
                cause to be initiated to the recipient a commercial 
                robocall;
                    ``(C) includes the telephone number to which the 
                recipient authorizes the commercial robocall to be 
                initiated; and
                    ``(D) includes a clear and conspicuous disclosure 
                informing the recipient that--
                            ``(i) by executing the agreement, the 
                        recipient authorizes the seller to initiate or 
                        cause to be initiated to the recipient a 
                        commercial robocall; and
                            ``(ii) the recipient is not required to 
                        sign the agreement, directly or indirectly, or 
                        agree to enter into the agreement as a 
                        condition of purchasing, renting, investing in, 
                        or enrolling in any property, goods, or 
                        services;
            ``(4) the term `seller' means the person on whose behalf a 
        commercial robocall is initiated; and
            ``(5) the term `signature' includes an electronic or 
        digital form of signature, to the extent that the form of 
        signature is recognized as a valid signature under applicable 
        Federal law or State contract law.
    ``(b) Prohibition.--
            ``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for a person within 
        the United States, or a person outside the United States if the 
        recipient is within the United States, to knowingly initiate a 
        commercial robocall without the prior express written consent 
        of the recipient.
            ``(2) Exemptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 
        telephone call--
                    ``(A) that is made for emergency purposes;
                    ``(B) that is made by or on behalf of a tax-exempt 
                nonprofit organization;
                    ``(C)(i) that is made by a provider of commercial 
                mobile radio service, as that term is defined in 
                section 20.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                or any successor thereto, to subscribers of the 
                service; and
                    ``(ii) for which the subscribers described in 
                clause (i) are not charged; or
                    ``(D) that delivers a message relating to health 
                care made by, or on behalf of, a covered entity or a 
                business associate of a covered entity, as those terms 
                are defined in section 160.103 of title 45, Code of 
                Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.
    ``(c) Criminal Penalties.--Any person who violates this section 
shall be fined not more than $20,000 per violation, imprisoned for not 
more than 10 years, or both.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Part I of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the chapter analysis, by striking the item relating 
        to chapter 113A and inserting the following:

``113A. Telemarketing.......................................    2325'';
        and
            (2) in chapter 113A--
                    (A) in the chapter heading, by striking ``FRAUD''; 
                and
                    (B) in the table of sections, by adding at the end 
                the following:

``2328. Commercial robocalls.''.
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