Enacts the do not disturb registry act to establish a statewide do not disturb registry which shall contain a list of residents who do not wish to receive unsolicited commercial marketing communications.
S09440 would create a new statewide “do not disturb” registry within the Department of State for New York residents who do not want to receive unsolicited commercial marketing communications. The bill defines covered communications broadly to include telemarketing calls, email, physical mail, text messages, fax messages, and certain commercial website content, and it allows residents to register contact information such as phone numbers, email addresses, fax numbers, and home addresses. The registry could also be structured to let residents opt out of specific industries, and the department could contract with a private vendor to operate it.
Once a resident’s information has been on the registry for 31 days, businesses would be prohibited from sending unsolicited commercial marketing communications to that consumer. The bill also authorizes the Department of State to investigate suspected violations, compel records through subpoenas, and seek court enforcement if necessary. Violations could result in administrative fines of up to $1,500 after a hearing, and the bill states that these remedies would be in addition to other rights or penalties under state or federal law.
The bill would amend the General Business Law by adding a new Article 48 governing a statewide do not disturb registry and by creating new compliance obligations for businesses that send marketing communications to New York residents. It would expand state consumer-protection law beyond the existing do-not-call framework by covering multiple channels of outreach, including email, text, fax, and physical mail, while preserving the separate statewide do-not-call registry and clarifying that telemarketing-related liability under the two regimes is not duplicative. The Department of State would gain new administrative and enforcement responsibilities, including rulemaking, registry administration, investigations, and penalty assessment.
The bill text reflects a strongly consumer-protection-oriented approach, emphasizing privacy, nuisance reduction, and protection from scams and deceptive marketing. The stated legislative findings frame unsolicited marketing as burdensome and potentially fraudulent, while also suggesting the registry could reduce marketing costs by identifying consumers unlikely to respond. No committee transcript or vote record is available here, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the provided materials.
The main policy tension is between consumer privacy and business marketing practices. Supporters would likely favor the bill’s broad opt-out protections, multi-channel coverage, and enforcement tools, while businesses and marketers may object to the compliance burden, the breadth of covered communications, and the potential overlap with existing federal and state marketing rules. Another possible point of contention is the bill’s inclusion of physical mail and website-related commercial content, which goes beyond traditional telemarketing restrictions and could raise questions about scope, administration, and First Amendment or preemption issues, though none are discussed in the provided record.