Do Not Call list: changes proposed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld the government's Do Not Call list on Feb. 17, ruling the list is a valid restraint of commercial speech and does not violate the First Amendment fights of telemarketers. The ruling reverses a previous decision by a federal judge that the list is unconstitutional because it barred sales calls from companies, but allows solicitations from charities and political organizations.

The appeals court essentially concluded that the right of people to enjoy privacy in their homes outweighs the right of companies to intrude on that privacy for commercial purposes. The court said the distinction was valid because commercial callers are more likely "to engage in deceptive and abusive practices." It supported a finding of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that charitable and political callers are often selling a cause, not just soliciting a donation, and therefore have less incentive to alienate the call recipients with abusive and deceptive practices.

The telemarketing industry is considering all appeal to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the list took effect in early October and places new requirements on apartment firms who use the telephone to communicate with existing and prospective residents. More than 57 million phone numbers have been added to the registry since it opened in June. The Federal Communications Commission, which also enforces the list, said more than 160,000 complaints have been filed since Oct. 1 and eight citations have been issued, primarily against mortgage firms.

In an effort to get consumers faster relief from unwanted telemarketing calls, however, the FTC has proposed changing the Do Not Call (DNC) regulations to require firms to purge their telemarketing lists of phone numbers on the DNC registry on a monthly basis instead of every three months as the rule now requires.

The change is mandated by a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 mad would not apply to firms who make intrastate telephone sales pitches, but would apply to from who call prospective customers in other states. In formal comments to the FCC, NAA/NMHC recommended the commission substitute the term "30 days" for "monthly" to avoid potential confusion.

NAA/NMHC also urged them to give firms at least one year from the publication date of the final role to comply with the new requirements to allow firms adequate time to adjust their compliance practices and policies. A NAA/NMHC document answering the most frequent apartment firm questions on the list is available at www.naahq.org/government/government.aspx.

Compiled by NAA/NMHC Joint Legislative Staff. Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Jim Arbury; Vice President for Housing Policy Initiatives Lisa Blackwell; Vice President of Finance and Technology David Cardwell; Vice President of Property Management Jeanne McGlynn Delgado; Vice President of Communications Kim Duty; Vice President of Environment Eileen Lee; Tax Advisor Howard Menell; Vice President of Building Codes Ron Nickson; and Chief Economist Mark Obrinsky.