Mini-TCPA Grounded?: Still No Action on Florida Robocall Bill and I’m Starting to Wonder Aloud

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TCPAWorld is always so hungry for news.

Ever since we started talking about the Florida robocall bill suddenly everyone is so interested in the bill. There were precisely zero news stories on the bill until we brought it to everyone’s attention and now its THE topic.

Its cool being me.

Anyhoo, the new story isn’t so much the new law its the fact that the new law isn’t law yet. And its getting a little weird.

So, as of noon Eastern Time today, the bill has not been presented to the Governor. https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/bill%20actions/Bill%20Actions%20-6.21.21.pdf

That’s really off because the bill was enrolled on April 28. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/1120

And in the meantime DeSantis has received and signed many bills, including a bunch that appear to have been enrolled earlier. (https://www.flgov.com/2021/06/21/governor-ron-desantis-signs-forty-four-bills)

But no action yet on the mini-TCPA.

Since there was virtually no debate on the bill in the state legislature before it passed more-or-less unanimously–indeed it appears to have caught a bunch of businesses by surprise– DeSantis might be working channels here to delay the presentment of the bill until folks can actually think it through. (Once presented the bill automatically becomes law if not vetoed within 15 days.) Of course I have no inside knowledge here and I am just wondering aloud.

As a reminder, the bill would strip businesses of the established business records and inquiry exceptions if an “autodialer”–whatever that means–is used to return phone calls to consumers. Express written consent is required and the “called party” is the user of the phone.

Its all bad, but–its not law, yet.

Keeping a close eye, and all that. More soon. (Or maybe not…)

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

1 Comment

  1. This bill is a major concern. It’s definition of an ATDS goes WAY beyond anything previously thought of. Defining “Any system that delivers a contact to an agent to dial” as a ROBO call creates huge holes for new litigation (Would that include emailing a list of contacts to an agent?). Further, the requirement that for all auto-dialed calls to have express written consent prior to making them will likely rule out virtual hold on inbound IVR’s.

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