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There needs to be a law to avoid being disturbed by unwanted phone calls at home, especially if you're on the Do Not Call list.

(File photo)

Advertisers who send unwelcome, unsolicited text messages could face fines of up to $10,000 for a first offense and $20,000 for additional offenses under a bill passed by the State Senate on Wednesday.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-4 of Washington Township) Daniel R. Benson (D-14 of Hamilton Square) and Benjie Wimberly (D-35 of Paterson), the legislation bans the sending of any unsolicited advertisement through text messages that didn't come with prior permission of the recipient and encourages them to purchase or rent goods or services.

"Unwanted text messages not only tax consumers' patience, but they are a drain on cell minutes and bank accounts," said Moriarty. "Just as telephone customers have been able to close their homes to unwanted telemarketing calls, cell customers should be able to be free of unwanted text ads. What we're trying to do here is assist consumers in avoiding unnecessary charges as a result of receiving messages that are unsolicited and over which the user has no control."

He said the bill, passed by the Senate in a 38-0 vote, is a long time coming after he's introduced it in the past two legislative sessions after seeing the potential threat to consumers.

When it was first introduced, the bill was an attempt to get ahead of the curve, said Moriarty, but it quickly became a more and more popular form of advertising and he said he's glad the legislation is finally getting to the Governor's desk.

"When I first brought this up, it wasn't a problem and I wanted to make sure it didn't become one," said Moriarty, chairman of the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee. "Now it's beginning to become more of a problem as people are getting more unsolicited advertising through text messaging."

That's especially because marketers have realized that consumers spend the bulk of their time on their phones, far more than they spend on laptops, home computers or in front of the television, said Moriarty.

"We're going to get invaded," he said. "We've got to stop that before it gets started."

The legislation also requires telecommunication companies that sell text messaging services to offer an option to block all incoming and outgoing text messages, and allows them to send customers text messages about their accounts only if the customer won't incur a charge or a usage allocation deduction as a result of the message being sent.

The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1 of Cape May Court House, Millville) called it "common sense" legislation.

"Unsolicited text messaging ads are a nuisance, but they can also result in costly fees for consumers," said Van Drew. "This bill will prohibit companies from sending these ads if it would affect a consumer's bill or the allotted cell minutes or text messages in their plan. This is a common sense measure that is solely about protecting the consumer."

Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.