Sec. 1. 36 MRSA c. 721 is enacted to read:

CHAPTER 721

TELEMARKETING FEE

§4841. Telemarketing fee

1. Fee imposed.__Except as provided in subsection 2, a fee of $1 is imposed on each call made in connection with telemarketing by a telemarketer, as defined in the Federal Trade Commission Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.2, to a residential telephone subscriber in this State.

2.__Exclusion.__ The fee imposed under subsection 1 does not apply to a telemarketer whose primary place of business is located in this State.

§4842. Payment of fee; report to assessor

1.__Monthly report.__Each telemarketer, except a telemarketer described in section 4841, subsection 2, shall file with the assessor, on or before the 15th day of each month, a report on a form prescribed by the assessor that discloses the number of calls subject to a fee under this chapter made during the preceding calendar month and such other information as the assessor requires. The assessor may permit the filing of reports other than monthly.

2. Payment of fee.__The fee imposed under this chapter must be paid at the time of reporting pursuant to subsection 1.__ Fees collected under this chapter must be deposited in the General Fund.

§4843. Rules

The assessor may adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.__Rules adopted pursuant to this chapter are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

SUMMARY

This bill imposes a $1 fee on each telemarketing call made by out-of-state telemarketers to residential telephone subscribers in this State. The revenues from this fee are deposited in the General Fund.