HB 761 – Relating to Telephone Solicitation

On Thursday, March 9th, HB 761 by Representative Tom Fabricio (R-Miami) was heard by the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee and was reported favorably with a vote of 12 yeas and 0 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

HB 761 seeks to close a loophole created by a 2021 consumer protection bill that limited unsolicited telephone sales calls. While the 2021 bill has increased consumer protection, it has allowed for increased litigation on businesses contacting their customers for legitimate reasons. By creating a definition of “Automatic telephone dialing system” and inserting some clarifying language, HB 761 will prevent crafty plaintiff’s bar attorneys from suing businesses attempting to legitimately contact customers. This bill will not remove any consumer protections originally passed in 2021.

AIF supports legislative efforts removing loopholes that help to enrich trial lawyers at the expense of businesses that produce goods and services on which all Floridians rely.