Some of the most notable successes of the Insights Association's advocacy for the marketing research and data analytics industry

2021

• April 5, 2021

  U.S. Supreme Court Clarification of TCPA Autodialer Definition a Win for Insights Industry

  The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified the definition of an autodialer in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The case, in which the Insights Association had joined an amicus brief, potentially clears up decades of convoluted and conflicting rules and decisions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and various courts that have tied legitimate actors in knots and fueled a deluge of class action litigation.

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• March 30, 2021

  New Florida Law S.B. 72 Limits COVID-19-Related Exposure Liability for Reopening Insights Businesses

  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed S.B. 72 into law as Chapter No. 2021-1 on March 29, 2021, providing limited liability protections for COVID-19-related claims against companies and organizations making good faith effort to comply with applicable public health guidance and government requirements. The IA-endorsed law passed the state senate 24-15 on March 18, and the state house 83-31 on March 26.

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• March 26, 2021

  PPP Refundable Small Business Loan Program Extended - H.R. 1799

  Congress has approved the PPP Extension Act of 2021 (H.R.1799), a bill supported by the Insights Association that extends the life of the refundable loan program that has helped many small businesses in the insights industry and their staff persevere despite the COVID-19 crisis.

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• March 17, 2021

  New Utah Law Provides Defense Against Data Breaches for ISO-Compliant Organizations

  Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed the Cybersecurity Affirmative Defense Act (H.B. 80) into law on March 11, 2021, providing an affirmative defense against data security breach litigation if a breached company abides by the right data security standards, like ISO 27001. The Insights Association had endorsed the Act.

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• March 2, 2021

  California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program - S.B. 87 - Signed into Law

  California Governor Gavin Newsom signed S.B. 87 into law on February 23, 2021, appropriating money to support the new California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. IA endorsed and supported S.B. 87.

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• February 28, 2021

  Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Prohibited Gifts Act of 2021 - H.B. 593

  The Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Prohibited Gifts Act (H.B. 593) includes an amendment recommended by the Insights Association that would protect bona fide marketing research with health care professionals.

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• February 19, 2021

  Census Bureau Allowed To Do Necessary Work Before Finalizing 2020 Census Results

  Along the lines of the legislation we had advocated last year to give the Census Bureau more time, the Bureau announced recently that it would not be able to report 2020 Census state-level results for purposes of apportionment until approximately April 30. The more useful data release – detailed redistricting data – won’t be ready until the end of September.

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2020

• December 23, 2020

  Wins for Insights Industry in Final 2020 COVID-19 Relief and Funding Package: Census; PPP Forgivable Small Business Loans; and Payroll Tax Credit

  The omnibus package of coronavirus relief and Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) appropriations includes important wins for the insights industry: (1) funding for the census; (2) the extension and expansion of forgivable loans for small businesses; and (3) the extension of the payroll retention tax credit.

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• October 23, 2020

  Michigan Approves New Laws Limiting COVID-19-Related Liability

  Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed four bills into law on October 22, 2020 -- H.B. 6030, H.B. 6031, H.B. 6032, H.B. 6101 -- to limit unwarranted COVID-19 exposure-related lawsuits against businesses and protect workers against workplace infection. The Insights Association supported the bills, which were locked together as a legislative package.

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• September 30, 2020

  New California Law A.B. 1281 Extends B2B and Employee Data Exemptions in CCPA That Were Expiring

  California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed A.B. 1281 into law, extending the sunset date on critical exemptions for employment and business-to-business data from the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as urged by the Insights Association.

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• July 29, 2020

  DC Rejects New Tax on Data

  The City Council for Washington, DC voted on July 28, 2020 to reject the proposed three percent tax on the sale of data, as requested by the Insights Association and our allies.

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• June 23, 2020

  New Louisiana Law S.B. 435 Provides COVID-19 Liability Protection to Insights Businesses as They Reopen

  A new law in Louisiana, backed by the Insights Association, provides people and businesses in the state basic protection from liability for exposure to COVID-19 during the “public health emergency” if following “applicable government standards and guidance.”

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• June 8, 2020

  Maine Finalizes Pharmaceutical Regulations, Clarifying the Legality of Research Respondent Incentives for Physicians

  In finalizing Maine’s ban on pharmaceutical manufacturer gifts to health care practitioners, the Maine Board of Pharmacy responded to the Insights Association that it should not restrict respondent incentives for participation in bona fide marketing research.

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• June 5, 2020

  Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act Signed Into Law

  President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (H.R. 7010), legislation advocated by the Insights Association, into law on June 5, 2020. It improves the ability of small businesses to utilize the Small Business Administration (SBA)'s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to offset the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

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• June 3, 2020

  California A.B. 3007 Defeated, Would Have Prevented Most Research Calls to Californians

  Legislation opposed by the Insights Association that would have prohibited most marketing research calls to Californians (at their residential, business or cell phone lines) has been defeated in the state legislature.

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• April 30, 2020

  Texas Supreme Court Upholds Legitimacy of Survey Research for Trials: IA Helps Court Evaluate Supposed "Push Poll"

  The Texas Supreme Court rejected a lower court’s order against a law firm for a supposed “push poll” in what the Insights Association called “a crucial victory for the right of litigants to use bona fide marketing research in court trials.”

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• April 24, 2020

  President Trump Signs Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act into Law

  President Donald Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (H.R. 226) into law on April 25, 2020, providing $484 billion in financial assistance and funding for various programs in response to the COVID-19 crisis, including the small business loan programs launched and expanded by the March 27th CARES Act.

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• January 29, 2020

  President Signs USMCA into Law to Protect Digital Trade

  The President signed H.R. 5430 into law on January 29, 2020, implementing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The new trade deal replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and includes protections for cross-border digital trade of benefit to the insights industry.

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2019

• December 20, 2019

  Feds End Decade With a Fully Funded 2020 Census

  With the decennial headcount just about to start, Congress finally delivered full funding to the Census Bureau for Fiscal Year 2020. "The Insights Association has lobbied hard to get us to this point because the marketing research and data analytics industry can't conduct representative research studies without the most accurate census data as a statistical benchmark."

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• November 26, 2019

  Latest Funding Resolution is a Win in the Bigger Census Funding Battle

  The latest Continuing Resolution funding the federal government contains increased funding for the 2020 Census, improving the odds of decennial preparations getting completed and setting the stage for the completion of full-year funding before the end of the year.

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• October 17, 2019

  California A.B. 1677, Vetoed by Governor, Would Have Penalized Offshoring of Call Centers

  Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Protect Call Center Jobs Act of 2019 (A.B. 1677), which would have penalized California companies that move their call centers out of the country or out of the state.

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• October 4, 2019

  Three States Improve Independent Contractor Status Protection with New Laws

  The Insights Association helped Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee approve changes this year harmonizing their treatment of independent contractors, including respondents who receive incentives for their participation in research studies.

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• September 20, 2019

  CCPA Wins: Amendments Head to Governor for Signature

  With the convoluted California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) coming into effect on January 1, 2020, the California legislature approved a handful of changes to the law last week advocated by the Insights Association before adjourning for the year and sent them to the Governor’s office.

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• July 10, 2019

  Oregon S.B. 472 Fails - Would Have Prohibited Selling or Purchasing Telephone Research Sample

  Oregon S.B. 472 died in committee with the conclusion of Oregon's legislative session at the end of June. This legislation would have prohibited the purchase or sale of a list of telephone numbers to be used for unsolicited calls, including calls for research.

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• June 27, 2019

  SCOTUS Blocks Citizenship Question from 2020 Census

  The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Department of Commerce's attempt to add a citizenship question to the decennial questionnaire in a 5-4 decision this morning. The Insights Association had joined an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in opposition to the citizenship question's addition in this controversial case, with 24 other companies and business groups. Research indicated that it would reduce response rates.

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• February 15, 2019

  Census Bureau Gets $1 Billion Increase in Final FY2019 Funding Law

  Congress sent President Trump legislation yesterday including $3.82 billion for all Census Bureau operations in Fiscal Year 2019, a billion dollar increase over FY18, as requested by the Insights Association. The President is expected to sign the bill today.

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• February 8, 2019

  Philadelphia Rejects Bill That Would Have Banned Pharmaceutical Marketing Research with Healthcare Professionals

  Legislation in the city of Philadelphia that would have cut off pharmaceutical marketing research with doctors was defeated in the city council.

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2018

• March 22, 2018

  Huge Win for Census in Final FY2018 Omnibus Funding Bill

  Insights Association advocacy helps secure $1.344 billion increase for the Census Bureau and 2020 Census preparations

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• August 10, 2018

  OMB Agrees Not to Rush Statistical Agency Reorganization

  The Office of Management and Budget recently assured the Insights Association that any government reorganization of statistical agencies involving the Census Bureau will not occur until after the 2020 Census, as we had requested.

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• March 16, 2018

  Circuit Court Rejects FCC's TCPA Regulations on Autodialer Definition and Calls to Reassigned Cell Phone Numbers

  Full analysis of the DC Circuit Court decision that rejected much of the FCC's 2015 TCPA regulations and accepted a lot of the Insights Association's arguments in the case, in which we were intervenors.

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• March 8, 2018

  Texas Comptroller Abandons Attempt to Tax Custom Market Research

  The Insights Association helps prevent Texas from taxing sales of marketing research services.

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• February 9, 2018

  Census Gets Big Boost in Latest Continuing Funding Resolution

  The big budget deal (after a momentary government shutdown) includes a much-needed boost in funding to prepare for the 2020 Census, as sought by the Insights Association.

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• January 16, 2018

  iconectiv Confirms That Number Portability Database is Not Just for Telemarketers

  The Insights Association convinced iconectiv, the new administrator of the database, to come up with better terminology for companies who need to access the wireless do not call registry, instead of just calling everyone (including marketing researchers) "telemarketers."

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• January 8, 2018

  New Jersey Pharmaceutical Regulations Exclude Independent Marketing Research with Prescribers

  New regulations in New Jersey restricting interactions between medical professionals and pharmaceutical manufacturers should not impede marketing research, thanks to the advocacy of the Insights Association

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2017

• June 22, 2017

  S.B. 790 in California Exempts Blinded Pharmaceutical Marketing Research

  The sponsor of S.B. 790, a bill that would otherwise ban respondent incentives for California doctors participating in most pharmaceutical marketing research, has agreed to the Insights Association's amendment that would exempt bona fide research.

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2016

• July 29, 2016

  2016 GOP and Democrat Platforms Hit on Some MRA Issues and Miss on Others

  The major party presidential campaign platforms for 2016 reflect some of the concerns of the survey, opinion and marketing research profession.

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• June 30, 2016

  New NTIA Facial Recognition Best Practices Advance Research and Consumer Privacy

  National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)'s industry best practices for protecting consumer privacy in facial recognition technology will advance privacy safeguards while also carving out most research and analytics uses of the technology.

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2015

2014

2013

2012

2008

• July 11, 2008

  Legislation Protecting Research Signed By Louisiana Governor

  Legislation drafted by CMOR to combat political persuasion calls ("push polls") while protecting legitimate survey and opinion research (including message testing) was signed into law by the Governor. Collaboration with grassroots volunteer Jude Olinger was critical, both to kill the original bill that woud have severely harmed political survey and opinion research with residents of Louisiana, and then to get the sponsor of that bill to instead promote legislation authored by CMOR.

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