Kansans are closer to being able to hang up on telemarketers.

Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall said Monday the state had reached an agreement with a company to maintain a list of Kansans who want to put a stop to telemarketing calls.

Consumers can register to be on the no-call list by calling toll-free (866) 362-4160 or visiting the attorney general’s Web site at www.ink.org/public/ksag.

Kansans who register by Sept. 23 will be on the Kansas no-call list that will be enforced starting Nov. 1. Any telephone solicitor that calls a telephone number on the list is subject to civil penalties of as much as $10,000 per violation.

Telephone solicitors who intend to make unsolicited telemarketing calls must purchase the no-call list from GovConnect Inc., a private company that contracts with state and local governments nationwide.

“Kansans now have a way to say ‘No’ to unwanted solicitations from telemarketers,” said AARP Volunteer State President Alice Barsamian of Wichita.

The agreement with GovConnect comes after lengthy delays in starting the no-call list, which was signed into law July 1.

The law directed Stovall to contract with Direct Marketing Assn., a telemarketing industry group, to maintain the list and sell it to telephone solicitors. But Stovall’s office said the firm was not willing to provide easy no-call registration and broke off negotiations with the group. It also was going to charge $5 to register for the list via the Internet.

Monday, Stovall said the new agreement was better for consumers and telemarketers because the subscription to the no-call list is less expensive through GovConnect.

“I am extremely pleased with the service GovConnect will be providing to Kansas consumers,” Stovall said in a prepared statement. “Consumers need only provide their names, addresses and telephone numbers to GovConnect by phone or on the Internet, and they will be registered on the Kansas No-Call list for the next five years.”

AARP, which advocates for senior citizens, made the no-call effort its top priority during the last legislative session because, it said, unscrupulous telemarketers prey on older people.

Neighboring Missouri just finished its first year with a no-call list, and officials there say the Kansas Attorney General’s Office better prepare for a flurry of activity.

“There has been a tremendous outpouring of support of the new law,” said Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

He said 1.03 million residential phones had been registered on the Missouri no-call list, and the state has obtained court orders requiring 73 telemarketers to pay $610,000 in fines.

GovConnect said that more than 3,000 people had registered for the Kansas list by Monday afternoon.