On May 25, 2023, the Governor of Florida signed a bill amending the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA). The amendments under Florida’s House Bill (HB) 761, become effective immediately upon signing by the Governor. Moreover, the amendments apply retroactively to any class action not certified on or before May 25, 2023.

The FTSA is Florida’s version of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), however, the FTSA was previously considered more restrictive than the federal version.

HB 761 however makes the following changes to FTSA:

• Revises the prohibition on telephonic sales calls that use an automated system to specifically include unsolicited calls using automated systems for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers or playing of a recorded message.
• Clarifies what constitutes consent and clear and conspicuous disclosure.
• Revises what constitutes a consumer’s “signature” for purposes of giving prior express written consent to include either an electronic or digital signature or an “act demonstrating consent,” which may include a simple affirmative response.
• Provides a safe harbor period of 15 days from the date a consumer notifies the telephone solicitor that he or she does not want to receive text message solicitations.

While these amendments will take some of the sting out of the FTSA, businesses should still be aware of their practices when it comes to Florida to ensure compliance with the TCPA and the scaled-back FTSA.