Does your state have its own version of the TCPA?

Yes. Oklahoma lawmakers passed the Oklahoma Telephone Solicitation Act of 2022. Okla. Stat. tit. 15 §§ 775C.1, et seq.

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

The Oklahoma TSA limits the time that telemarketers may contact consumers from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm in the called person’s time zone. This limit is more restrictive than the federal TCPA, which permits telemarketers to contact consumers from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm local time.

The OTSA does not specifically define what an autodialer is, which may be an attempt to expand the definition of autodialer past the limits of the TCPA.

The OTSA provides a detailed list of exemptions for certain types of solicitations and entities. For example, it exempts solicitations for religious, charitable, political, or educational purposes, as well as certain business-to-business sales and transactions involving licensed professionals such as securities brokers and insurance agents. Additionally, it exempts “[a] person soliciting business from prospective consumers who have an existing business relationship with or who have previously purchased from the business enterprise for which the solicitor is calling if the solicitor is operating under the same business enterprise.” Okla. Stat. tit. 15, § 775C.5. The TCPA, on the other hand, has a less extensive list of exemptions.

The Oklahoma TSA limits the number of calls that may be made by a single seller in one day. A commercial telephone seller or salesperson may not make more than three commercial telephone solicitation phone calls from any number to a person over a twenty-four-hour period on the same subject matter or issue, regardless of the phone number used to make the call. Okla. Stat. tit. 15, § 775C.4

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

Parties often couple claims brought under the federal TCPA with claims under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act. Okla. Stat. tit. 15 §§ 751, et seq.

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

• Telemarketers and Sellers should review the extensive list of exemptions provided by Oklahoma’s Act to determine if they must comply with its provisions, or if they fall within one of its many exemptions. Exemptions can be found at tit. 15, § 775C.5.
• Telemarketers and Sellers should never initiate a sales call that blocks the caller ID or displays a different phone number than the one originating the call.
• Telemarketers and Sellers must receive prior express written consent prior to contacting consumers
• A telemarketer should not call or text a consumer more than three times in a 24-hour period about the same subject matter or issue.
• Telemarketers and Seller should not contact consumers before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.

Telemarketers and Sellers should use voice altering devices or any technology that disguises a caller’s voice. The Act includes restrictions against sales calls that intentionally alter the voice of the caller to disguise or conceal the identity of the caller in order to mislead or confuse the call recipient.