Committee passes bill to stop 'dead calls'

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Telemarketers would be prohibited from making so-called ``dead calls'' to Oklahomans under a bill passed Tuesday by the House Energy and Utility Regulation Committee. <br><br>Dead

Tuesday, February 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Telemarketers would be prohibited from making so-called ``dead calls'' to Oklahomans under a bill passed Tuesday by the House Energy and Utility Regulation Committee.

Dead calls occur when a telemarketer uses equipment that dials and engages more than one telephone number at a time. The first customer to answer is connected to the seller, but the remaining customers whose numbers were dialed hear nothing when they answer the phone.

``There is software that will prevent dead calls,'' said the measure's author, Rep. Fred Perry, R-Tulsa. Perry said the software would not totally eliminate dead calls but would reduce their number dramatically.

The measure, House Bill 2837, would amend the state law that allows deceptive telemarketing practices to also prevent telemarketers from using equipment that allows dead calls.

The bill now goes to the full House for action.