House Bill 916 would strengthen North Carolina’s Do Not Call/Do Not Text Registry laws by expanding and clarifying the state’s telemarketing restrictions. The bill broadens the statutory definitions of “telephone solicitation” and “telephone solicitor” to explicitly include voice and text communications, facsimiles, telemarketing as defined under federal rules, and parties that receive leads or inbound calls generated by solicitations. It also makes clear that businesses using third-party vendors, contractors, or affiliates can fall within the law’s scope.
The bill shortens the time allowed for a solicitor and its affiliate to stop contacting a residential subscriber who has asked not to be called again, reducing the deadline from 60 business days to 30 business days in certain affiliate-based solicitation situations. It also strengthens the prohibition on automatic dialing and recorded-message calls by imposing joint liability on any party that knows or should know it is receiving leads or inbound calls generated by unlawful robocalls. The act would take effect immediately upon becoming law.
HB916 would amend North Carolina General Statutes §§ 75-101, 75-102, and 75-104, expanding the reach of the state’s consumer protection framework for telemarketing, robocalls, and text-message solicitation. It would affect telephone solicitors, telemarketers, affiliated businesses, lead generators, and third-party vendors by making them more clearly subject to Do Not Call/Do Not Text restrictions and by increasing liability for unlawful solicitation chains. Consumers on the registry would gain faster removal from contact lists and stronger protections against repeated or indirectly routed solicitations.
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears consumer-protection oriented and aimed at tightening enforcement against unwanted calls and texts. Its framing suggests a generally favorable posture toward reducing nuisance and potentially deceptive telemarketing practices.
The main points of potential contention are the shortened compliance window for removing numbers from affiliate contact lists and the expansion of liability to parties that receive or accept leads generated by unlawful calls. Businesses that rely on affiliate marketing, outsourced call centers, or lead-generation networks may view the bill as increasing compliance burdens and legal exposure. Consumer advocates would likely support these changes as necessary to close loopholes and make the Do Not Call/Do Not Text Registry more effective.