Maybe in 2007, the Kansas Legislature can get campaign finance reform right. Well-meaning attempts have run aground in recent years. To its credit, the Kansas Ethics Commission recently decided to keep pressing the Legislature for change. What the commission wants is overdue — including timely reporting of campaign contributions and more disclosure of the activities of political action committees and issue advocacy groups. When it comes to the No. 1 complaint the commission received about the 2006 campaigns — automated phone messages, known as “robocalls” — lawmakers also should consider whether to get tougher than the commission’s worthy proposal that the messages declare who is calling. Another thing this past election demonstrated: that Kansas is not among the 21 states in which it’s unlawful to lie in a campaign.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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8 Comments
“Robocalls” are solicitations. Aren’t they included under the provisions of the various state and federal “no-call” lists? They should be, but it’s not surprising if the pols exempting themselves. Anybody know?
“Sarah Conner” “Sarah Conner”
We also need legislation that will establish a minimum ratio of polling places/number of resident voters, and which recognizes a different ratio for cities of the first, second and third class. We do not need to have another election like 2006 where four Election Commissioners in our major metropolitan areas were given virtually unregulated control over how many polling places would be used, and where they would be located, and allowed to make such decisions without public hearings, and without approval by elected officials.
Ban ALL ROBOCALLS. There is no reason for a salesman or a politicial to have access 24 hours to our phones and phone numbers.
The right for an individual should be to have the ability to “choose” to accept them and other telemarketing calls. Our federal govenrment blew this one with the “opt-out” policy and then law. WHy should we have to opt out, and be by default have our choice taken away by automatically being opted in? WHY? The political hacks wanted it just for them. Their political campaign is more important than our privacy and piece of mind.
The whole of the telemarketing bills must be redone, and make the choice “opt in” only. That would put a stop to it all in a heartbeat. Elected officials and greasy salespeople and corporations all included!
rm, as you guessed, political solicitation, as well as charitable solicitations for that manner, are exempted from the “no call” list; the political, at least, on the basis of the First Amendment.
Vaughn,
I know they “say” it is a first amendment right. But it is NOT a right to come into my home or pester me. That is what robocalls do, there is nothing guarnteed or protected here.
It is not the content, but the delivery. These guys want to talk in the town square, go for it, but my PHONE LINE IS MINE, it IS NOT PUBLIC! All I have said is based on current common law, and current legal definitions, seems as if those Political Party Fundraisers think they are above the law.
It needs to stop, even in the telemarketing.
If a human ain’t making the call personally, HOW THE HELL is there aguarntee of First Amendment Rights?? You grant those to a recording??? However, you do not grant ME the exclusion and CHOICE to control my own PHONE NUMBER???
NO, BAN ALL TELEMARKETING and BAN ALL ROBO CALLERS.
That would stop all this stupid shit.
ASBESTOS, you and I are in agreement about the privacy of the telephone line WE pay for for OUR convenience.
My proposal on “telemarketing”, etc. All telemarketers, fundraisers by telephone, etc. are assessed a mandatory fee before being allowed to ply their trade, a fee sufficient to keep every resident of the State of Kansas with a telephone the following: state of the art caller ID hardware; and the service part paid for by the fee. The number of the caller must be displayed, together with the name of the calling organization, to allow the user of the telephone the information necessary to ignore the call (or to put it on a blocked list, again paid for by the fee). The telephone number(s) displayed must be such that a return call may be made thereto, w/a live person answering, so the number of the person calling may be removed from any computerized list, etc. permanently, with a prohibition against selling the lists of those who do not protest, with mandatory dissemination of the “take me off the list” numbers.
What about that?
NO, make it all “Do not call”, and those that want to be called acn “opt in”, instead of the rest of us “opting out”. That is freedom. That is choice. We do not need all the do dads, all we need is leadership in both parties that are more concerned about INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES than CORPORATE WELFARE.
That is all the telemarketing laws and robo calleing is about, corporate welfare anc giving a corporation “rights” while taking them from “individuals” such as people.
This is a no brainer, and BOTH parties need to stop elelmarketing in totality.