The New York State Senate has passed a new law guaranteeing consumers greater protection from telemarketers.

The Senate’s new law further reduces unwanted telemarketing calls by restricting them to the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and requiring greater disclosure by companies to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices.

“Our ‘Do Not Call’ list is one of the most important consumer protections we have, and it’s now even stronger,” said Sen. William Stachowski, D-Cheektowaga. “This law gives us a timeout from salespeople you never asked to call you and who use prerecorded announcements to fill up your answering machine.”

“Just as important, telemarketers will have to clearly state what they are selling and the full terms of any sale,” the senator added, noting that many consumers have been frustrated by being sold trial offers which seem to be for a limited time, only to realize they have signed onto a longer term commitment.

The New York State ‘Do Not Call’ law became effective in 2001, allowing consumers to place their personal landline and mobile telephone numbers on one central national registry to reduce the number of unsolicited telemarketing calls they receive. Besides restricting the hours during which calls can be made, and requiring additional disclosure, the new law better protects consumers from deceptive and bothersome telemarketing by:

• Expanding New York’s ‘Do Not Call’ law protections to “robo-calls” including those targeted to answering machines or voice mail.

• Expanding the Consumer Protection Board’s (CPB) power to investigate complaints and enforce the law.

The bill takes effect 120 days from the signing date.