On Monday, a United States District Court Judge in North Dakota ruled that the state’s law preventing called ID spoofing is unconstitutionally encroaching on Congress’s authority to regulate interstate trade.

This week, both houses of the California state legislature passed the Debt Collection Licensing Act (SB 908), a bill that makes California one of 35 states to require a license in order to practice debt collection. Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the bill into law.

Back in April, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law several amendments to the state’s existing law that regulates telemarketing, the Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act. Those amendments take effect July 1, 2020.

Last Friday, the Minnesota Department of Commerce issued Regulatory Guidance 20-27 clarifying remote work procedures for the debt collection industry and extending that guidance to cover Governor Tim Walz’s extension

At the end of March, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed emergency regulations banning the collection of consumer debt during the COVID-19 crisis, including a 90 day ban on debt collection calls and text messages to Massachusetts residents. Last week, a judge issued an injunction preventing the Attorney General from enforcing that ban.

Telemarketers must often navigate a minefield of risks. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), various Do Not Call (DNC) laws, and other regulatory statutes present a vast array of potential, costly violations.

Anyone who is familiar with the best practices for calling during declared states of emergency knows that a declared state of emergency in Louisiana means that telemarketing is prohibited in that state for the duration of the emergency.

The legislature of the state of New York and Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted the state’s 2021 Executive Budget. Among the budget’s provisions is one that reduces the statute of limitations from six years to three years for collections lawsuits on medical debt.