By Hannah Troyer
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Individuals who continue to get pesky solicitation calls, despite being a part of Indiana’s “Do Not Call List,” would be able to receive help under a bill that passed the Indiana Senate on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 349, authored by Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, would apply the current Do Not Call laws to consumer transactions as well as callers in commercial telephone solicitations.

The attorney general’s office received more than 13,000 violation complaints regarding solicitation calls last year.

Merritt described a common situation that the current Do Not Call law does not stop.

He said the call originates in a foreign country and then is routed through several calling stations before connecting to someone in Indiana.

Merritt also said that type of violation makes it difficult for the attorney general to catch the person breaking the law.

Currently, a person found guilty of breaking the “Do Not Call” laws must pay a fine up to $10,000 for the first violation and $25,000 for each violation after.

The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

Hannah Troyer is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.