by Marc Kovac
Capital Bureau Chief
Residents could end some political robo-calls, under legislation introduced by one state lawmaker.
House Bill 506, sponsored by Rep. Thom Collier, a Republican from Mount Vernon, would create a Do Not Call registry for automated calls, giving candidates or campaigns 30 days to remove residents' numbers from their phone banks.The legislation also would require such pre-recorded messages to disclose, at the beginning of calls, the name of the groups responsible and their funding source.
Collier told members of the House's State Government and Elections Committee the bill would not prohibit person-to-person calls -- candidates or supporters calling others directly to urge them to vote or attend speaking engagements, for example.
But Rep. Dan Stewart, a Democrat from the Columbus area, questioned the need for the bill. He said he used automated calls to inform constituents about town meetings where he is speaking or answering questions.
"I don't really think it's that much of an imposition," Stewart said. "It's something we need to do more of in democracy today."
He added, "I think that we may be tinkering with a First Amendment right that could get probably a lot of court cases generated on this."
An analysis by the state's Legislative Service Commission acknowledged the latter: "Because the bill regulates political speech, if enacted it may be subject to challenge on freedom of speech grounds. The United States Supreme Court has stated that "when a state seeks to restrict directly the offer of ideas by a candidate to the voters, the First Amendment surely requires that the restriction be demonstrably supported by not only a legitimate state interest, but a compelling one, and that the restriction operate without unnecessarily circumscribing protected expression."
But Collier said the bill "does not prohibit anyone from political free speech." Rather, it provides a means, comparable to the registries in place covering other telephone solicitations, for people who do not want to receive automated calls.
Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief.