Government and Government Contractor Calls Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991

In this document, the Commission finds that state government callers, like federal government callers, are not "persons" for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because they are sovereign entities. The Commission also clarifies that a local government caller is a "person" subject to the TCPA. On reconsideration of the Broadnet Declaratory Ruling, the Commission reverses its previous order to the extent that it provided that a contractor making calls on behalf of the federal government was not a "person" subject to the restrictions of the TCPA. The Commission also clarifies that a state or local government contractor, like a federal government contractor, is a "person" and thus not exempt from the TCPA's restrictions. This action was taken in response to petitions that sought clarification of these issues and removes any uncertainty on when governmental callers or contractors making calls on their behalf are required to obtain the prior express consent of called parties.