Wisconsin students and residents could stop unwanted phone calls from telemarketers on their cell phones under new legislation.
""There is nothing as intrusive as an unwanted telemarketing call,"" state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said in a statement.
Erpenbach authored the legislation that would expand the state's current ""Do Not Call List"" due to the increasing popularity of cell phone use.
As the list stands now, state residents are allowed to block their home numbers from receiving unwanted calls. Residents can block their landlines for a two-year period after signing up. Since Wisconsin instated the list, over one million Wisconsin households have signed up.
Erpenbach, who authored the state's original ""Do Not Call List"" bill is proposing to expand the bill.
""Allowing cell phone customers and small business owners to avoid these calls is the next step ... to protecting their customers and privacy,"" he said.
The bill would also increase the penalties for violating the ""Do Not Call List."" The violation fine would rise from the current maximum off $100 to between $1,000 to $10,000.
Kendall Smith, a UW-Madison sophomore who does not have a landline, said she would happily add her cell phone number on this list and would urge her peers to do the same.
""Telemarketers are a total pain,"" Smith said. ""When telemarketers call your cell phone they use your minutes and waste your time. This would be good for students because most kids don't have landlines in their apartments or dorms.""
Erpanbach echoed this sentiment and said the bipartisan plan will keep cell phone minutes from being ""eaten up by unwanted telemarketing calls.""
The bill will be sent for a hearing from the Senate Committee on Small Businesses, Emergency Preparedness, Workforce Development, Technical Colleges and Consumer Protection.
