As part of our commitment to keeping our members informed of potential legal changes, the EIA is closely monitoring Pennsylvania Senate Bill 992 (SB 992), a bipartisan bill introduced on September 5, 2025, which recently passed the Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure committee with a 14-0 vote on September 10, 2025. It is currently pending action on the Senate Floor.

What is Pennsylvania Senate Bill 992?

Senate Bill 992 is an Act amending the existing Telemarketer Registration Act of December 4, 1996. The bill aims to update and expand the law to further define registration requirements, unlawful acts, and prohibitions related to telemarketing screening products. Notably, it expands the existing law to address ringless voicemail and text messages sent to residential, business, or wireless telephone subscribers within Pennsylvania.  

It’s important to be aware that violations of this act are also considered violations of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTP), which provides a private right of action for individuals suffering “any ascertainable loss of money or property,” allowing for the recovery of actual damages or $100, whichever is greater.

Key Provisions and Crucial Exemptions for Ecommerce

One of the most important aspects for ecommerce businesses is the bill’s recognition of key exceptions to what constitutes a “telephone solicitation” or “telemarketing”:

• Prior Express Written Consent (PEWC) and Established Business Relationships (EBR): Calls or texts made with prior express written consent (PEWC) (defined consistent with federal law) or based on an established business relationship (EBR) within the past 12 months are explicitly excluded from the definition of “telephone solicitation,” provided consent has not been revoked.
  
• Impact on “Telemarketer” Status: Because calls or texts made with PEWC or based on an EBR are not considered telephone solicitations or telemarketing, businesses engaging solely in these types of communications will not be deemed “telemarketers” for the purposes of the statute.
  
• Registration: This distinction is critical because it means that businesses operating with PEWC or an EBR will generally not be required to register with the Attorney General.
  
• Proposed Quiet Hours (and why exemptions matter!): For calls or texts not made with PEWC or an EBR, the bill proposes quiet hours that are substantially more restrictive than federal law:

• No telephone solicitations on Sundays.
• No calls between 7:00 PM and 9:00 AM on weekdays.
• No calls on any legal holiday.

Again, for our members who engage in communications with PEWC or an EBR, these quiet hours generally do not apply.

EIA’s Key Concerns and Recommendations

While the proposed bill does not create many of the same concerns that prompted EIA to strongly oppose Oregon HB 3865 and to sue to block SB 140 in Texas, the EIA nevertheless has concerns with key concerns within SB 992 that could disproportionately impact ecommerce businesses:

1. Retail Business Establishment Exception: The bill, like current law, includes an exception for “retail business establishments” operating under the same name for the past two years. If this is interpreted to apply only to brick-and-mortar stores, it would unfairly discriminate against ecommerce businesses. We believe this provision should be modified to be inclusive of online retailers.
   
2. Mobile Phone Location Challenges: The bill applies to telemarketing calls or texts to a “wireless telephone subscriber in this Commonwealth,” but it lacks clear guidance on how businesses can reliably determine a mobile phone’s location. This ambiguity makes compliance with location-based restrictions, particularly the quiet hours, extremely difficult for businesses.
   
3. Restrictive Quiet Hours: The proposed quiet hours are significantly narrower than federal law. Coupled with the inability to accurately determine a mobile phone’s location, adhering to these hours becomes an impractical burden for many businesses if they need to communicate but don’t have either PEWC or an EBR.

The EIA will continue to monitor Pennsylvania Senate Bill 992 as it moves through the legislative process and provide updates to our members. Our goal is to ensure that regulations effectively protect consumers without hindering the growth and innovation of the ecommerce industry.

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