§ 5-61-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Department� means the department of attorney general.
(2) "Hours of operation� means Monday through Friday, except a state or federal holiday,
nine o'clock (9:00 a.m.) to six o'clock (6:00 p.m.); Saturday ten o'clock (10:00 a.m.)
to five o'clock (5:00 p.m.).
(3) "Item� means any goods and services and includes coupon books that are to be used
with businesses other than the seller's business.
(4) "Owner� means a person who owns or controls ten percent (10%) or more of the equity
of, or otherwise has claim to ten percent (10%) or more of the net income of, a telephonic
seller.
(5) "Person� includes an individual, firm, association, corporation, partnership, joint
venture, or any other business entity.
(6) "Principal� means an owner; an executive officer of a corporation; a general partner
of a partnership; a sole proprietor of a sole proprietorship; a trustee of a trust;
or any other individual with similar supervisory functions with respect to any person.
(7) "Purchaser� or "prospective purchaser� means a person who is solicited to become,
or does become, obligated to a telephonic seller.
(8) "Salesperson� means any individual employed, appointed, or authorized by a telephonic
seller, whether referred to by the telephonic seller as an agent, representative,
or independent contractor, who attempts to solicit or solicits a sale on behalf of
the telephonic seller. The principals of a seller are themselves salespersons if they
solicit sales on behalf of the telephonic seller.
(9) "Telephonic seller� or "seller� means a person who, on his or her own behalf or through
salespersons or through the use of an automatic-dialing-announcing device, causes
a telephone solicitation, or attempted telephone solicitation, to occur that meets
the criteria specified as follows:
(i) A telephone solicitation, or attempted telephone solicitation, where the telephonic
seller initiates or engages in telephonic contact with a prospective purchaser and
represents or implies one or more of the following:
(A) That a prospective purchaser who buys one or more items will also receive additional
or other items, whether or not of the same type as purchased, without "further cost.�
For the purposes of this subdivision, "further cost� does not include actual postage
or common carrier delivery charges, if any;
(B) That a prospective purchaser will receive a prize or gift if the person also encourages
the prospective purchaser to purchase or rent any goods or services or pay any money,
including, but not limited to, a delivery or handling charge;
(C) That a prospective purchaser who buys office equipment or supplies will, because of
some unusual event or imminent price increase, be able to buy these items at prices
that are below those that are usually charged or will be charged for the items;
(D) That the seller is a person other than the person he or she is;
(E) That the items for sale are manufactured or supplied by a person other than the actual
manufacturer or supplier;
(F) That the seller is offering to sell the prospective purchaser any gold, silver, or
other minerals, or any interest in oil, gas, or mineral field, wells, or exploration
sites.
(ii) Solicitation or attempted solicitation that is made by telephone in response to inquiries
generated by advertisements or other form of mail or any types of unrequested mailing
or advertisement sent by the seller that requires a consumer to respond telephonically
for further information where it is revealed that the seller is offering to sell to
the prospective purchaser on behalf of the telephonic seller where it is represented
or implied that the seller is offering to sell to the prospective purchaser any gold,
silver, or other metals; diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or other stones; coal or other
minerals; or any interest in oil, gas, or mineral fields, wells, or exploration sites;
or that the seller is offering to sell any goods or services not specifically exempted
in subsection (10).
(10) For purposes of this section, "telephonic seller� or "seller� does not include any
of the following:
(i) A person selling a security that has been qualified for sale by the director of business
regulation pursuant to § 7-11-301 et seq., or is exempt under § 7-11-401 et seq. from the necessity to qualify.
(ii) A person licensed pursuant to § 5-20.5-6, when the solicited transaction is governed by that law.
(iii) A person licensed pursuant to chapter 1.2 of title 7, when the solicited transaction is governed by that law.
(iv) A person soliciting the sale of a franchise that is registered pursuant to § 19-28.1-5 or is exempt under § 19-28.1-6 from the necessity of registering.
(v) A person primarily soliciting the sale of a newspaper of general circulation, as defined
in § 9-19.1-1, a magazine or periodical, or contractual plans, including book and record clubs:
(A) Under which the seller provides the consumer with a form that the consumer may
use to instruct the seller not to ship the offered merchandise, and that is regulated
by the Federal Trade Commission trade regulation rule concerning "Use of Negative
Option Plans by Sellers in Commerce, 16 C.F.R. Part 425�; or (B) Not covered under subsection (10)(v)(A), such as continuity plans, subscription
arrangements, standing-order arrangements, supplements, and series arrangements under
which the seller periodically ships merchandise to a consumer who has consented in
advance to receive the merchandise on a periodic basis.
(vi) A person soliciting business from prospective purchasers who have previously purchased
from the person making the solicitation or the business enterprise for which the person
is calling.
(vii) Any supervised financial institution or parent, subsidiary, or affiliate. As used
in this paragraph, "supervised financial institution� means any commercial bank, trust
company, savings and loan association, credit union, industrial loan company, personal
property broker, consumer finance lender, commercial finance lender, or insurer; provided,
that the institution is subject to supervision by an official or agency of this state
or of the United States.
(viii) A person soliciting the sale of services provided by a cable television system licensed
or franchised pursuant to chapter 19 of title 39.
(ix) A person or affiliate of a person whose business is regulated by the public utilities
commission.
(x) A person soliciting the sale of a farm product, as defined in § 43-3-18, if the solicitation neither intends to, nor actually results in, a sale that costs
the purchaser in excess of one hundred dollars ($100).
(xi) An issuer, or subsidiary of an issuer, that has a class of securities subject to §
12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78l, and that is either registered or exempt from registration under paragraph (A), (B),
(C), (E), (F), (G), or (H) of subsection (g) of that section.
(xii) A person soliciting sales that are exempted under § 6-13-5 (Unfair Sales Practices) or § 6-13.1-4 (Deceptive Trade Practices).
(xiii) A person soliciting exclusively the sale of telephone answering services to be provided
by that person or that person's employer.