House Bill Would Give Minnesota ‘Toughest Robocall’ Legislation

ST. PAUL -- Imagine a world where scammers who call your cell phone get blocked before your phone ever rings. A Minnesota State Representative says a bill he is introducing Tuesday in a House Committee would do just that.

Democrat Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids says the bill would give Minnesota the toughest legislation in the country to protect us from robocalls.

My bill would give new tools to the Attorney General to crack down on these calls and require telecom companies to implement the latest and greatest in call blocking technology because the great news is there's technology out there today that can block these calls before your phone even rings, we just need to make sure that the telecoms are putting it into effect.

Stephenson says in 2019 alone an estimated 500 million robocalls were made in Minnesota, breaking down to about 125 calls for every adult.

Stephenson says Minnesota currently has a ban on auto dialing technology, but that was passed 10 years ago and is becoming outdated.

Former Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey will testify on behalf of the AARP. The bill is being heard in the House Commerce Committee.