📢 Legislative Update (August 2026): SB 992 Signed Into Law
On July 30, 2026, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 992 into law as part of a package of 23 bills, marking the final step in Pennsylvania’s effort to modernize its telemarketing and text messaging laws.
This outcome follows months of advocacy and collaboration with lawmakers and stakeholders. Throughout the legislative process, the EIA worked to ensure the bill protected consumers while remaining practical and workable for legitimate ecommerce businesses. Thanks in part to EIA’s lobbying and advocacy efforts, lawmakers adopted important amendments that addressed several of the concerns we raised before the bill reached the Governor’s desk. While the new law creates updated compliance obligations for businesses that market to Pennsylvania consumers by phone or text, the final legislation is a more balanced framework than earlier versions of the bill.
Senate Bill 992 (SB 992), as amended at the request of EIA, has cleared the Pennsylvania General Assembly. On Sunday, July 12, 2026 — following the legislature’s successful passage of a state budget, and in the waning hours before both chambers adjourned until September — the Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved the bill, as amended, by a unanimous vote, and the Pennsylvania Senate then unanimously agreed to concur in the House amendments. With both chambers now in agreement, SB 992 heads to Governor Josh Shapiro for his signature.
This is the final legislative step in a process that EIA has been engaged in from the start. The bill that will reach the Governor’s desk is a materially better piece of legislation than the one first introduced — clearer in its scope, more faithful to how modern consumer communications actually work, and far less likely to sweep in the legitimate, consent-based messaging that consumers rely on every day.
A Bill Improved on a Bipartisan Basis
From its first Senate vote to its final passage, SB 992 has moved through the General Assembly with unanimous, bipartisan support at each key step. That is not an accident. It reflects a shared recognition — on both sides of the aisle — that good consumer-protection law should target genuine telemarketing abuses without punishing the businesses that communicate with customers who have asked to hear from them.
Along the way, EIA surfaced a series of concerns about unintended consequences in the original bill and worked constructively with legislators and legislative staff to address them. That collaboration produced two successive amendment packages: the Senate’s October 2025 removal of a problematic “one-to-one” consent provision that mirrored a defunct FCC rule vacated by the Eleventh Circuit in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, and the House committee’s spring 2026 package that sharpened the bill’s definitions, created an exemption for businesses not engaged in telemarketing, and codified the standard opt-out keywords consumers already use every day.
EIA is grateful for the thoughtful, good-faith engagement of legislators and their staff throughout this process. We also want to specifically recognize the constructive working relationship EIA developed with Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office. Attorney General Sunday’s team engaged seriously with the concerns EIA raised and helped shape amendments that improve the legislation and guard against unintended consequences that could have imperiled the ability of legitimate businesses to continue communicating with customers who consent to those communications. That kind of collaboration between industry, the legislature, and the Attorney General is exactly how sound policy should be made.
The Consent Fix That Matters Most
Of all the improvements to SB 992, one stands out for ecommerce businesses nationwide: the bill was amended to make clear that a business making calls or sending messages with written consent is not engaged in a “telephone solicitation” — and therefore is not required to register with the state.
In largely keeping with the federal TCPA, the bill recognizes that calls, voicemails, and text messages that encourage the sale or purchase of goods or services are nevertheless not “telephone solicitations” if they are:
- In response to the prior express written consent of the subscriber;
- In reference to an existing debt, contract, payment or performance;
- With whom the seller or telemarketer has an established business relationship within the past 12 months preceding the call;
- On behalf of an organization granted 501(c)(3), (5) or (8) status (relating to exemption from tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.) or a veterans organization chartered by the Congress of the United States and its duly appointed foundation; or
- On behalf of a political candidate or a political party.
That distinction means that businesses that obtain written consent before they call or text are not “telemarketers” under the bill, and they do not have to navigate a burdensome and unnecessary state registration process. Written consent under the Pennsylvania law is the same as in the federal regulations adopted by the FCC, and therefore businesses can be assured that if they’re obtaining consent in compliance with the TCPA’s prior express written consent standards already, then that consent will remain valid in Pennsylvania.
Written consent must meet all of the following criteria:
- Identifies the telephone number to which the called party authorizes the calls or messages;
- Contains a clear and conspicuous disclosure that, by executing the agreement, the called party consents to receive telephone solicitations from the seller, including a robocall or text message.
- States that the consent is not a condition of purchasing property or consumer goods or services; and
- Is signed by the called party, which may include an electronic or digital signature consistent with the requirements under 15 U.S.C. Ch. 96 (relating to electronic signatures in global and national commerce).
The amendments making clear that businesses who obtain prior written consent or have an established business relationship was a critical change to SB 992 that EIA successfully advocated for. The fix is drawn directly from EIA’s experience as a leader and advocate for protecting legitimate businesses from over-regulation and unintended consequences. This is precisely the issue that engulfed the industry after Texas SB 140 took effect in 2025, when numerous SMS platforms and law firms told brands to “just register” with the Texas Secretary of State — advice that forced legitimate businesses to divert time and money, disclose sensitive information, and post $10,000 bonds under a law that was never intended to reach consent-based messaging. EIA, together with its founding member Postscript, took on that fight directly to the courts, suing the State of Texas and ultimately securing the Texas Attorney General’s acknowledgment that requiring brands sending SMS with prior consent to register “teeters on absurdity,” and confirmation that EIA members are not regulated by SB 140.
Because Pennsylvania’s legislators and Attorney General Sunday engaged with business in good faith, they were able to get it right the first time and avoid the needless expense of litigation. Rather than leaving businesses to litigate their way to clarity after the fact, SB 992 writes the consent distinction into the statute itself — giving Pennsylvania businesses a clear compliance roadmap and ensuring the consumers can continue to get the calls and text messages they want, while properly focusing the state’s enforcement efforts on the calls and texts they don’t.
Why It Matters
Pennsylvania consumers are best served by a mini-TCPA that is clear, enforceable, and aimed squarely at bad actors. Over-broad definitions produce the opposite of consumer protection: they generate litigation against legitimate businesses, chill the routine messages consumers actually want — shipping confirmations, appointment reminders, account alerts — and make real telemarketing abuses harder to police.
As passed, SB 992 anchors the law’s obligations to genuine “telephone solicitation,” carves out consent-based and other non-solicitation communications, and codifies a uniform set of opt-out keywords. It protects Pennsylvania consumers from the abuses the legislature is actually concerned about while leaving room for the legitimate commercial communications that consumers have asked to receive.
The Path Forward
SB 992 now awaits Governor Shapiro’s signature. EIA urges the Governor to sign the bi-partisan bill into law.
Under the text of the bill as passed, SB 992 is scheduled to take effect 90 days after the Governor signs it. Businesses should use that window to review their calling and messaging practices, confirm they are capturing and honoring consumer consent, and make sure their opt-out handling aligns with the standardized keywords the bill recognizes — so they are ready the day the law goes into effect.
The EIA thanks the members of the General Assembly on both sides of the aisle, the legislative staff who worked through the details with us, and Attorney General Dave Sunday and his office for their collaborative approach. Their willingness to engage seriously with the concerns EIA raised is why the bill headed to the Governor’s desk protects consumers without imperiling the legitimate businesses that serve them.
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The Ecommerce Innovation Alliance (EIA) provides members with analysis of litigation and regulatory developments affecting online commerce and digital marketing. This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
