Does your state have its own version of the TCPA?

Yes. The Mississippi Legislature has adopted the Mississippi Telephone Solicitation Act (“MTSA”). The MTSA’s provisions are set forth in Section 77-3-701 et seq. of the Mississippi Code. In 2023, the Legislature transferred authority over the MTSA from the Mississippi Public Service Commission (“MPSC”) to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

If so, please explain the distinction between the state’s iteration of the TCPA.

The MTSA requires any telephone solicitor wishing to do business in Mississippi to register with the Attorney General’s Office (and submit a $75,000 bond payment). Some of the differences between the MTSA and the TCPA include:

• The TCPA covers all telephone line communications, including robo-calls and faxes, while the MTSA applies to telemarketing and telephone solicitation calls.
• Under the MTSA, telemarketing and telephone solicitation calls may only be made between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, and no such calls may be made on Sundays.
• Mississippi uses the federal Do Not Call list, which telemarketers must obtain monthly.
• The MTSA prohibits autodialer calls with prerecorded messages unless the consumer has given consent.
• The Attorney General may issue a fine of up to $10,000 for each violation of the MTSA.

Under the MTSA, the Attorney General may waive the requirements of the MTSA for any telephone solicitor:

• who shows that the proposed solicitation is reasonably related to an established business relationship or is made in response to an invitation or notice from a consumer that clearly shows the consumer is open to being contacted,
• who shows that the proposed solicitation is made for the purpose of soliciting a contribution or donation to a bona fide nonprofit corporation, or
• who seeks to contact a consumer for a bona fide religious or charitable purpose.

The MTSA does not apply to:

• A person soliciting who does not make the major sales presentation during the solicitation, who does not intend to complete or obtain provision acceptance of a sale, contribution, or payment during the solicitation, or who does not intend to complete (and does not complete) the sales presentation during the solicitation but does so at a later face-to-face meeting,
• Certain telephone solicitations by licensed Mississippi real estate agents,
• Certain telephone solicitations by licensed Mississippi motor vehicle dealers,
• Certain telephone solicitations by insurance agents,
• Certain telephone solicitations by broker-dealers, agents, or investment advisors,
• Certain telephone solicitations made on behalf of charitable organizations registered in Mississippi,
• Certain telephone solicitations made by newspapers of general circulation,
• Certain “supervised financial institution” telephone solicitations,[i]
• Certain telephone solicitations by funeral homes, cemeteries, and monument dealers, and
• Any telephone solicitor who solicits a consumer with whom the solicitor has an established business relationship.[ii]

Please address state specific consumer protection statutes that are often paired with TCPA or its state iterations and the additional element and penalties.

The overwhelming majority of lawsuits filed in Mississippi related to telephone solicitations have been either filed directly under the MTSA by the MPSC (or, more recently, by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office) or are filed as direct actions by consumers under the TCPA. Potential offshoots of private actions in Mississippi include the following:

• Claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, which require a showing that the defendant’s acts are so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.[iii]
• Claims for invasion of privacy, which require a showing of a substantial interference with one’s seclusion of a kind that would be highly offensive to the ordinary, reasonable man.[iv]

What are the current best practices to comply with the State’s iteration of the TCPA?

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office has a dedicated website that provides very detailed information about the MTSA, the registration process, and other related issues.[v] The site has an FAQ page[vi] with helpful information and links to the Attorney General’s Office for questions that are not covered on the website.[vii]

It is highly recommended that any entity wishing to conduct telemarketing and telephone solicitations review the Attorney General’s website thoroughly.