Molly Ivins May 20

AUSTIN, Texas — During the late, great fracas over the hate-crimes bill, the state Senate Committee on Economic Development was meeting quietly at 11:30 p.m. on the Fatal Friday when House Bill 537 by Rep. Debra Danburg was called. Eight lobbyists were signed up to speak against the bill, with one representative of the American Association of Retired Persons as the designated hitter for the bill.

But eight speakers at 5 minutes each is 40 minutes, and the bill could not be passed after midnight. So Senate sponsor Gonzalo Barrientos pulled it to make way for something that had a chance — "took it off life support," as they say at the Capitol.

You may think the fate of an obscure bill — HB 537 was no one's idea of a piece of major legislation — is no skin off your nose, but it was a perfect example of why you need to pay attention to politics. No matter how cynical you are or how boring you find politics, it still affects your life, every day, in 100 ways you never even think about.

Ever had your dinner interrupted by a call from a telemarketer trying to sell you insurance or carpet cleaning or a new long-distance service? Ever notice how they always manage to call JUST when you least want to hear from them? Know any senior citizens who have been scammed by fraudulent telemarketers? Any seniors in your life who would be intrigued if someone called and offered them the opportunity to win big cash prizes, cars, vacations and other expensive items? No purchase necessary, just a small transaction fee, and if you will give us your credit card number, you too will have a chance to win ...

Does it infuriate you that people can use YOUR telephone, a means of communication that YOU pay for, to invade your home, interrupt your life and put the hard sell on you?

Even if they don't cost you or someone you love big money, telemarketers are still one of those annoyances that usually don't matter much but can drive you up the wall and out of all patience. You are waiting for an important call from overseas, or word from your mother about how your father's operation went, or to hear from your son-in-law about the new grandchild expected momentarily when ... riiinngg ... it's the 15th caller this week offering a special on carpet cleaning.

And you think for the millionth time, "Isn't there any way to get rid of these people?"

That's what HB 537 was for. The bill would have established a statewide do-not-call list monitored by the state Public Utilities Commission. The bill also contained a number of provisions to cut down on telemarketing fraud, including eliminating some of the current exemptions from registration with the state.

When the bill was first introduced by Danburg and Barrientos, the proposed no-call list contained no exemptions — a gutsy move on their part. Predictably, the charities, educational institutions and political campaigns all threw a hissy fit, and the bill was amended to exempt them all. After all, they are only trying to get your money — they're not trying to sell you anything.

The bill also contained a never-on-Sunday provision and limited calling hours to between 9 a.m.

and 9 p.m. Never-on-Sunday was reduced to only noon-to-9 on Sunday. But the big breach in the bill was blasted by the insurance agents and securities brokers; lobbyists for both groups negotiated exemptions from the no-call list in the House committee.

Why exempt insurance agents and securities brokers? Because they have better lobbyists than the carpet cleaners, of course. Their argument in committee was that they are already "highly regulated" and so should not be covered by the bill.

On the other side, the Texas AARP was for the first time taking a major role on a Texas bill. Although the AARP is a 400-pound gorilla in Washington, it's never been much of one in Austin. The organization just opened an Austin office a few years ago.

It's a pleasure to see an organization that represents people come to lobby in Austin. And the AARP used its strength — people — on this bill.

"We gave it our hearts and souls," said Candice Carter, who is the only AARP staffer who deals with the Legislature. "We had volunteers from across the state, we organized by Senate district, we had a rally here at the Capitol, and 1,000 seniors from all over Texas came. ... This bill was our biggest priority, and we put lots of energy into it.

"But, you know, when you're sitting at the table with a lot of heavy hitters. ... And they had people in the Legislature on their side who are really quick with a point of order or a technicality. You may think it's a clear thing that we should have a right to privacy in our homes from telemarketers, much less that senior citizens are so often victimized by them, but, well, there are just a lot of heavy hitters. AARP is rethinking its position now on whether we should have paid lobbyists at the state level."

Saralee Tiede, chief of the office of customer protection at the PUC, was a top aide to former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby for several years and is a veteran player at the Capitol. "Frankly, I did not know the telemarketers had that much clout," she said. "And the insurance people turned out in force at the hearing before the House Committee on Business and Industry, saying they were already soooo regulated. And the securities people said the same. There were plenty of others who wanted exemptions, but we tried to compromise just enough to keep the bill moving."

The telemarketers came up with all kinds of reasons why there should not be a no-call list. Many of them claim that they keep their own no-call lists, but the trick there is each company has a different formulation and, rather like the old Groucho Marx quiz show, unless you say the magic words — "Put me on your no-call list," or "Put me on your do-not-call list," or "Take me off your call list," etc. — the duck does not come down.

The best efforts of some very good people could not get this bill through this session. But if a few more legislators had gotten a few more letters from constituents sick to death of having their dinner interrupted, that bill would have passed.

Gov. George W. Bush's sole contribution to all this, by the way, was to issue a proclamation making May 2-8 Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Awareness Week.

Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. To find out more about Molly Ivins and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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