SC lawmaker wants Congress to crack down on robocalls
South Carolina’s state lawmakers may not be able to stop robocallers from dialing your phone, but they may pass a resolution next year demanding Congress take immediate action.
A bill filed in the state Senate would add to the voices across the country demanding that Congress take action when it comes to telemarketing or scam calls.
“I don’t know of anything that’s more annoying at my house and to my constituents than this constant stream of robocalls,” said the resolution’s sponsor, state Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry.
Hembree said members of the Legislature and state government unfortunately don’t have much power to fight robocalls. Calls can come in from across state lines, limiting the ability of law enforcement in the state to investigate or make arrests.
“We’re sort of the at the mercy of the federal government,” Hembree said.
Though state officials are limited in what they can do about robocalls, Hembree hopes his resolution can amplify the voices of South Carolina residents who are tired of them.
If the resolution passes both the House and the Senate, it would be the latest push from South Carolina for Congress to crack down on the scams.
In August, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a coalition of 51 attorneys general to fight the calls and urge Congress to act. Though the attorneys general can’t individually fight robocallers, the group has vowed to work with phone companies to crack down on the calls, said Robert Kittle, Wilson’s spokesman.
“Telecom providers should offer free automatic call blocking services to everybody and monitor their network traffic to spot patterns consistent with robocalls,” Kittle said.
The group also wants phone companies to contact law enforcement when they suspect they have found a robocalling operation.
Currently, Congress is considering a bill that would require phone carriers to verify calls are not robocalls and to allow the calls to be effectively blocked. The bill passed the House of Representatives in early December and was sent back to the Senate.
