CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SENATE BILL 6215
53rd Legislature
1994 Regular Session
Passed by the Senate February 15, 1994 YEAS 45 NAYS 3
President of the Senate
Passed by the House March 2, 1994 YEAS 96 NAYS 0 |
CERTIFICATE
I, Marty Brown, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 6215 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. |
Speaker of the House of Representatives |
Secretary
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Approved |
FILED |
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Governor of the State of Washington |
Secretary of State State of Washington |
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SENATE BILL 6215
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Passed Legislature - 1994 Regular Session
State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1994 Regular Session
By Senators Skratek and Vognild
Read first time 01/17/94. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to public service companies; amending RCW 81.04.110, 81.04.385, and 81.04.405; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature to clarify that the utilities and transportation commission has the authority to make more efficient use of its resources, provide quicker resolution of complaints regarding transportation tariff matters, eliminate duplicative hearings on classification and violation matters, and to make certain that criminal proceedings involving alleged violations of transportation tariffs not be dismissed because of confusion regarding whether a defendant has received a classification by the commission.
Sec. 2. RCW 81.04.110 and 1961 c 14 s 81.04.110 are each amended to read as follows:
Complaint may be made
by the commission of its own motion or by any person or corporation, chamber of
commerce, board of trade, or any commercial, mercantile, agricultural or
manufacturing society, or any body politic or municipal corporation, by
petition or complaint in writing, setting forth any act or thing done or
omitted to be done by any public service ((corporation)) company or
any person, persons, or entity acting as a public service company in
violation, or claimed to be in violation, of any provision of law or of any
order or rule of the commission.
When two or more public
service ((corporations)) companies or a person, persons, or entity
acting as a public service company, (meaning to exclude municipal and other
public corporations) are engaged in competition in any locality or localities
in the state, either may make complaint against the other or others that the
rates, charges, rules, regulations or practices of such other or others with or
in respect to which the complainant is in competition, are unreasonable,
unremunerative, discriminatory, illegal, unfair or intending or tending to
oppress the complainant, to stifle competition, or to create or encourage the
creation of monopoly, and upon such complaint or upon complaint of the
commission upon its own motion, the commission shall have power, after notice
and hearing as in other cases, to, by its order, subject to appeal as in other
cases, correct the abuse complained of by establishing such uniform rates,
charges, rules, regulations or practices in lieu of those complained of, to be
observed by all of such competing public service ((corporations)) companies
in the locality or localities specified as shall be found reasonable,
remunerative, nondiscriminatory, legal, and fair or tending to prevent
oppression or monopoly or to encourage competition, and upon any such hearing
it shall be proper for the commission to take into consideration the rates,
charges, rules, regulations and practices of the public service ((corporation))
company or ((corporations)) companies complained of in any
other locality or localities in the state.
All matters upon which complaint may be founded may be joined in one hearing, and no motion shall be entertained against a complaint for misjoinder of complaints or grievances or misjoinder of parties; and in any review of the courts of orders of the commission the same rule shall apply and pertain with regard to the joinder of complaints and parties as herein provided: PROVIDED, All grievances to be inquired into shall be plainly set forth in the complaint. No complaint shall be dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the complainant.
Upon the filing of a
complaint, the commission shall cause a copy thereof to be served upon the
person or ((corporation)) company complained of, which shall be
accompanied by a notice fixing the time when and place where a hearing will be
had upon such complaint. The time fixed for such hearing shall not be less
than ten days after the date of the service of such notice and complaint,
excepting as herein provided. Rules of practice and procedure not otherwise
provided for in this title may be prescribed by the commission.
Sec. 3. RCW 81.04.385 and 1961 c 14 s 81.04.385 are each amended to read as follows:
Every officer, agent or employee of any public service company or any person, persons, or entity acting as a public service company, who shall violate or fail to comply with, or who procures, aids or abets any violation by any public service company of any provision of this title, or who shall fail to obey, observe or comply with any order of the commission, or any provision of any order of the commission, or who procures, aids or abets any such public service company in its failure to obey, observe and comply with any such order or provision, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
Sec. 4. RCW 81.04.405 and 1973 c 115 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
In addition to all
other penalties provided by law every public service company subject to the
provisions of this title and every officer, agent or employee of any such
public service company who violates or who procures, aids or abets in the
violation of any provision of this title or any order, rule, regulation or
decision of the commission, ((and)) every person or corporation
violating the provisions of any cease and desist order issued pursuant to RCW
81.04.510, and every person or entity found in violation pursuant to a
complaint under RCW 81.04.110, shall incur a penalty of one hundred dollars
for every such violation. Each and every such violation shall be a separate
and distinct offense and in case of a continuing violation every day's
continuance shall be and be deemed to be a separate and distinct violation.
Every act of commission or omission which procures, aids or abets in the
violation shall be considered a violation under the provisions of this section
and subject to the penalty herein provided for.
The penalty herein provided for shall become due and payable when the person incurring the same receives a notice in writing from the commission describing such violation with reasonable particularity and advising such person that the penalty is due. The commission may, upon written application therefor, received within fifteen days, remit or mitigate any penalty provided for in this section or discontinue any prosecution to recover the same upon such terms as it in its discretion shall deem proper and shall have authority to ascertain the facts upon all such applications in such manner and under such regulations as it may deem proper. If the amount of such penalty is not paid to the commission within fifteen days after receipt of notice imposing the same or application for remission or mitigation has not been made within fifteen days after violator has received notice of the disposition of such application the attorney general shall bring an action in the name of the state of Washington in the superior court of Thurston county or of some other county in which such violator may do business, to recover such penalty. In all such actions the procedure and rules of evidence shall be the same as an ordinary civil action except as otherwise herein provided. All penalties recovered under this title shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the public service revolving fund.
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