A 9029: 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.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9029 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY September 5, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to enacting the do not disturb registry act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "do not disturb registry act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and purpose. The legislature hereby finds 4 and declares that it is the policy of this state to ensure that its 5 residents are not burdened or deceived by unsolicited commercial market- 6 ing communications, including telemarketing calls, electronic mail, 7 physical mail, text message, and facsimiles. The increase in unsolicited 8 commercial marketing communications has heightened the risk of making 9 residents of this state susceptible to deceptive practices, scams, and 10 fraudulent schemes. Moreover, the receipt of such communications is also 11 a nuisance to residents as such communications clutter their inboxes, 12 fill their devices with unwanted messages, and consume their time and 13 attention, thereby disrupting their daily lives and diminishing the 14 privacy and peace they should be able to expect in their personal spac- 15 es. Furthermore, the increase of such communications also has the 16 effect of diminishing residents' trust in urgent communications. Final- 17 ly, the existence of a statewide do not disturb registry may have the 18 effect of lowering marketing costs to businesses, as businesses will be 19 aware of consumers who have a lower likelihood of positively responding 20 to their commercial marketing communications. 21 § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new article 48 to 22 read as follows: 23 ARTICLE 48 24 DO NOT DISTURB REGISTRY 25 Section 1800. Definitions. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13592-01-5 
 A. 9029 2 1 1801. Do not disturb registry. 2 1802. Unsolicited commercial marketing communications; when 3 prohibited. 4 1803. Investigations. 5 1804. Penalties. 6 1805. Effect on the statewide "do-not-call" registry. 7 1806. Rulemaking. 8 § 1800. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms 9 shall have the following meanings: 10 1. "Unsolicited commercial marketing communication" shall mean any 11 telemarketing call, electronic mail, physical mail, text message or 12 facsimile, the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement 13 or promotion of a commercial product or service, including content on an 14 internet website operated for a commercial purpose made by or on behalf 15 of a covered person. This term shall not include communications that are 16 sent as a result of a resident voluntarily opting in to receiving such 17 communications. The inclusion of a reference to a commercial entity or a 18 link to the website of a commercial entity does not, by itself, cause 19 such communication to be treated as a commercial marketing communication 20 for purposes of this section if the contents or circumstances of the 21 communication indicate a primary purpose other than a commercial adver- 22 tisement or promotion of a commercial product or service. 23 2. "Covered person" shall mean any natural person, association, part- 24 nership, corporation and its affiliates or subsidiaries or other busi- 25 ness entity that sent more than the threshold amounts for each form of 26 communication in one of the previous five calendar years prior to the 27 communication being made: 28 (a) five thousand unsolicited marketing communications made through 29 physical mail; 30 (b) ten thousand unsolicited marketing communications made through 31 electronic mail; 32 (c) one thousand unsolicited marketing communications made through 33 facsimile; or 34 (d) one unsolicited marketing communication made through telemarketing 35 call or text message. 36 3. "Department" shall mean the department of state. 37 4. "Secretary" shall mean the secretary of state. 38 5. "Consumer" shall mean any natural person who is a resident of this 39 state and who is or may be required to pay for or to exchange consider- 40 ation for goods and services. 41 6. "Doing business in this state" shall mean sending an unsolicited 42 commercial marketing communication: 43 (a) from a location in this state; or 44 (b) from a location outside of this state to consumers residing in 45 this state. 46 7. "Goods and services" shall mean any goods and services, and shall 47 include any real property or tangible personal property or services of 48 any kind. 49 § 1801. Do not disturb registry. The department is authorized to 50 establish, manage, and maintain a statewide do not disturb registry 51 which shall contain a list of residents who do not wish to receive unso- 52 licited commercial marketing communications. The department may contract 53 with a private vendor to establish, manage and maintain such registry, 54 provided that the contract shall require the vendor to provide the do 55 not disturb registry in a format best designed to enable registrants to 56 update their consumer marketing lists. Such registry may be designed to 
 A. 9029 3 1 enable residents to select specific industries of which communications 2 they would like to opt-out of. Such registry shall be designed to enable 3 residents to register the following information that shall be linked to 4 their registration, provided however that a resident shall not be 5 required to provide all such information: 6 1. telephone number; 7 2. facsimile number; 8 3. electronic mail address; and 9 4. home address. 10 § 1802. Unsolicited commercial marketing communications; when prohib- 11 ited. No business shall make or cause to be made any unsolicited 12 commercial marketing communication to any consumer when that consumer's 13 information has been on the statewide do not disturb registry for a 14 period of thirty-one days. 15 § 1803. Investigations. When the department has reason to believe a 16 person has engaged in a single or repeated unlawful act or acts in 17 violation of this article, the department may request in writing the 18 production of relevant documents and records as part of its investi- 19 gation. If the person upon whom such request was made fails to produce 20 the documents or records within thirty days after the date of the 21 request, the department may issue and serve subpoenas to compel the 22 production of such documents and records. If any person shall refuse to 23 comply with a subpoena issued under this section, the department may 24 petition a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the subpoena and 25 such sanctions as the court may direct. 26 § 1804. Penalties. 1. Where it is determined after hearing that a 27 covered person has violated a provision of this article the department 28 shall assess a fine not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars. 29 2. Any proceeding conducted pursuant to subdivision one of this 30 section shall be subject to the state administrative procedure act. 31 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict any right 32 which any person may have under any other statute or at common law. 33 4. A finding of a violation of any federal law related to the sending 34 of unsolicited marketing communications shall not preclude any penalty 35 pursuant to this section. 36 § 1805. Effect on the statewide "do-not-call" registry. The provisions 37 of this article shall be construed to operate in addition to section 38 three hundred ninety-nine-z of this chapter. No covered person shall be 39 held liable for penalties related to section three hundred ninety-nine-z 40 of this chapter and this article in relation to a violation related to 41 telemarketing, as it is defined in section three hundred ninety-nine-z 42 of this chapter. 43 § 1806. Rulemaking. The department shall promulgate rules and regu- 44 lations to administer this article. 45 § 4. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this 46 act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be 47 invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the 48 remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, 49 sentence, paragraph or part thereof directly involved in the controversy 50 in which such judgment shall have been rendered. 51 § 5. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 52 law.