After billion-robocall barrage, Michigan lawmakers eye crackdown

With robocalls and texts on the rise in Michigan, a bipartisan bill package could make it easier to crack down on the practice
The bills create guidelines on when and how businesses could use robocalls to contact Michiganders, with an emphasis on transparency
The Department of Attorney General could also go after bad actors, with civil fines of up to $100,000

LANSING — The state’s top prosecutor may soon get greater power to crack down on pervasive or scam robocalls and texts under legislation debuted in the state Senate Wednesday.

A bipartisan five-bill package, up for testimony in the Senate Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee, would also put guardrails around when and how businesses could reach Michiganders by automated call and texting services.

While lawmakers can’t outright ban the practice — it’s covered under the First Amendment — Sen. Mary Cavanagh, D-Redford Township, said the effort is about “protecting Michigan residents, especially seniors and people with disabilities, from exploitation and ongoing harassment.”

“It is about ensuring that when someone receives a call from a number they don’t recognize, they don’t have the fear of being scammed out of their savings,” said Cavanagh, a lead sponsor on the package and chair of the Senate panel.

Americans received just over 4.8 billion robocalls in May 2025 alone, according to recent data from YouMail, a call screening and blocking service. That data also indicates robocalls are up 11% in 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024.

Michigan state Sen. Mary Cavanagh, D-Redford Township, is pushing to give the Department of Attorney General greater powers to crackdown on pervasive robocalls and texts. (Jordyn Hermani/Bridge Michigan)

As for Michigan: Residents receive more than 1 billion robocalls per year, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office. The department has successfully prosecuted or otherwise halted a handful of robocall efforts, including a 2020 campaign to spread misleading information about the state’s mail voting options.

“The proposed act would address the present telemarketing landscape and ongoing barrage of unwanted robocalls and texts that confront Michigan residents, in addition to laying out a stronger regulatory regime to govern telephone solicitations,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathy Fitzgerald, noting 8.7 million active Michigan phone numbers are listed on the National Do Not Call Registry.

Maintained by the Federal Trade Commission, the national registry that tells registered telemarketers not to call certain numbers. But it does not block calls or stop scammers from utilizing robocalls or texts as part of efforts to steal personal or financial information.

The new legislation seeks to curtail that — at least in Michigan. It aims to do the following:

Ban telephone solicitors from calling a person whose number is listed on the most current version of the federal Do Not Call list
Ban solicitors from spoofing their phone number in order to make it appear as though they are calling from a more local area code, or calling as someone entirely different
Ban solicitors from mimicking what the bill defines as a “vulnerable telephone number” — or numbers associated with the government, emergency use, health care or educational facilities
Limit robocalls or tests to people in Michigan to between 9 am and 5 pm local time
Mandate solicitors disclose their own first and last name, as well as the full name, address and telephone number of the organization they’re soliciting on behalf of

There are a number of carveouts within the legislation for organizations and businesses that use robocalls and texts for membership program offers, survey requests or to solicit political donations.

A person who violates the proposed law could be subject to civil fines of up to $100,000. Michigan residents could also sue to recover “actual damages” resulting from a scam robocall or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees.

Sen. Roger Victory, R-Hudsonville, said a number of his constituents had reached out to him after being inundated by robocalls. Some, he added, received as many as 40 calls a day.

“My hope is that these bills will dissuade telephone solicitors from using deceptive and misleading tactics by implementing stricter guidelines and adding accountability,” said Victory, who noted the bipartisan support and suggested the only people against the effort “are in the industry.”

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There was some opposition in committee, however, due to concerns the legislation could unfairly lump robocalls or texts from nonprofits, religious organizations, membership programs or surveys into the same group as spam calls about a car’s extended warranty, for instance.

David Carter, president and CEO of the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance, argued that adopting the legislation could negatively impact businesses in Michigan and the United States while doing nothing to hold foreign actors accountable.

The Federal Trade Commission estimated in 2023 that “a significant proportion, if not the majority, of illegal robocalls” to people in the US come from outside the country.

Carter also took umbrage with the fact political robocalls and text were exempt from the proposed regulations, saying that if the potential policy “is not too much for those businesses to bear, then why shouldn’t those seeking and holding public office also be willing to meet those same requirements and face the same consequences?”

Following the hearing, Cavanagh told reporters she thinks the bills thread the needle between giving businesses “the ability to reach their customers” while still giving consumers the ability to opt-in to these texts or calls instead of having it forced upon them.

More work is expected on the bills before a potential committee vote.

It’s the third time in recent years lawmakers have attempted to crack down on robocalls in Michigan. Similar legislation introduced last fall passed the state Senate but died in the House during a chaotic lame duck session.