If you missed yesterday’s incredible ON STAGE podcast production with the cast of Squire Patton Bogg’s Unprecedented podcast being joined by Colorado State Senator Jeff Bridges at — holy smokes did you miss something special.

The crowd was electric, the lights were bright and everyone brought their “A” game. You can hear it in the recording as spontaneous shouts, applause and even a left-field question or two peppered the on-stage participants. This is life without a net, on the biggest of stages in the best of venues. How fun!

As you’d expect the TCPAWorld team was game and up to snuff. I was joined on stage by the Archduke–who flew in from Atlanta–and the Grand Duchess–direct from Washington D.C.–and we broke down the biggest recent news from TCPAWorld:

• The HUGE ramifications for the TCPA and American right to free speech following the Supreme Court agreeing to review the TCPA on First Amendment grounds(BTW– look for my big “Expert Analysis” piece in Law360 in the next few days);

• The dire circumstances facing corporate officers who are now being held personally liable for TCPA violations, even for actions taken on behalf of the companies they work for;

• The TRACED Act–all it did (and didn’t do) to the TCPA and what it means for the future; and

• The big new trend in TCPA lawsuits targeting lead sellers for purportedly bogus leads– is this real or fiction?

You absolutely cannot miss this presentation–delivered live and available NOW on soundcloud and TCPAWorld.com.

But the real fireworks started when Col. Sen. Jeff Bridges (D.) joined the fun and gave us the real scoop. Talk about a straight-shooter– this guy is as sharp as he is sincere and I know the whole crowd left impressed with his insights.

After briefly breaking down how he got into politics–a story you won’t want to miss– we turn to the meat: data privacy, robocalls, marketing, and state-level legislation. We wanted to know what was in the works in Colorado, and the Senator didn’t let us down.

On data privacy, the Senator explained how data breach notifications in Colorado are now required within 30 days pursuant to bi-partisan legislation that he helped sponsor and push. And while the Senator noted that there are components to the CCPA that he would likely not want to see enacted in Colorado, the interview leaves no doubt that further legislation around data privacy is possible (if not likely) in the Centennial state.

But things were even starker around robocalls. Here the Senator did not mince words:

We are looking at the state level at passing laws… looking at laws to pass to put a stop to telemarketing.

Wow! That’s breaking news folks.

Elsewhere in the interview the Senator promised there was room for compromise with business interests, however, noting an imperative to assuring compliance:

How do we creating certainty for you all to know, 100%, that what you are doing is legal and protected and that you’re not going to jail…

And in a nod to our earlier discussion about the First Amendment dimensions of the TCPA, he assured the audience that any legislation w/should seek to comply with the First Amendment–which the Senator described as his “favorite amendment.”

All in all the message was clear– industry participants need to find a way to assure that they are effectively self-policing, otherwise further state-level legislation is inevitable as “bad apples” continue to “spoil the bunch.”

The key? Making sure that consumers receive only wanted telemarketing calls and not random-fired calls or calls that consumers are not expecting–even if they may have supplied their phone number somewhere up the chain. And while the Senator pledged to “work together” with industry to help find solutions–and urged marketing leaders to propose those restrictions themselves to better inform the process– he did not mince words that further state-level restrictions are likely–indeed they already under consideration!

All in all the interview was incredible and informative, which is completely keeping with the event–Lead Generation World. What a great conference! The energy was frenetic as lead buyers and sellers were finding each other at a mile a minute,in the mile high city. It was great to connect with old friends and make a ton of new ones (welcome to TCPAWorld friends!)

Obviously the TCPAWorld team had tons of fun swag available, including our NEW look T-shirts for 2020, mugs, and our 2019 mid-year review (the 2020 edition is still in the works.)

A conference attendee picking up on of our NEW-look shirts. TCPA. All day.

Thanks again to Mike Ferree for having us at the event.

And for those of you that missed the spectacle–Fear not. Obviously you can listen to the podcast now. But the road show will be coming to a city near you soon. I already have TWELVE speaking gigs lined up for 2020, with another half dozen in the works as well. Yee haw.

Stay tuned to TCPAWorld.com for more details.