Watch the committee hearing (10 minutes) here.

The Minnesota Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday approved a bill from Sen. Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) that aims to push back on persistent and frustrating robocalls. Draheim’s bill empowers the attorney general to sue and recover a civil penalty from robocallers found in violation of state statute.

“There are over 50 billion robocalls every year in the United States,” Draheim said. “We all have had to deal with these pesky calls, and we need to do our part in Minnesota to put a stop to it. We don’t even realize how much it has influenced our behavior – only 19% of adults answer their phones according to a 2020 PEW Research Survey. The private sector is working on it, Congress is working on it, and Minnesota must do everything it can as well.”

The bill was passed and sent to the Judiciary Committee, where it awaits its next hearing.

The private sector is also taking steps to combat robocalling. Some cell phone companies have begun proactively labeling numbers as potential spam, and congress has taken steps to reduce robocalls as well.