Subcommittee advances bill to set federal unsubscribe rules for commercial texts; proponents say it will help small businesses

Senator Marsden’s Senate Bill 13‑39, which would modify Virginia’s Telephone Privacy Act to address commercial text messaging, was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee by the subcommittee on an 8‑0 vote.

Trey Adams, appearing “from Maguire Woods on behalf of the E‑Commerce Innovation Alliance,” told the subcommittee that technological differences between telephone calls and texts require statutory updates and that some actors were “using Virginia phone numbers to game the system and sue small businesses.” Adams said forthcoming federal action — scheduled April 8 in the record — will codify “stop and unsubscribe replies” and that putting comparable language into Virginia law will instruct recipients how to opt out and reduce abusive litigation.

Adams said the change had been adopted in Florida and that he had not encountered opposition to the draft to date. No members of the public spoke in opposition on the record. The committee moved, seconded, and recorded the motion to report the bill; the clerk closed the roll and recorded the bill as reported and referred to Appropriations on an 8‑0 vote. The record did not specify a mover, a seconder, or amendments.

Votes at a glance: Senate Bill 13‑39 — reported and referred to Appropriations (vote: 8‑0).