[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to telecommunications competition; amending RCW 80.01.060, 80.36.300, 80.36.135, and 80.36.330; adding new sections to chapter 80.36 RCW; creating a new section; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

PART I

CARRIER-TO-CARRIER SERVICE QUALITY

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. FINDINGS AND INTENT. (1) The legislature finds that:

(a) Congress has required, through the telecommunications act of 1996, P.L. 104-104 (110 Stat. 56), incumbent carriers to make available to new entrants in a nondiscriminatory and just and reasonable manner the services and facilities incumbent carriers use to provide retail services to their own customers; and

(b) In order to take advantage of the service and facility offerings that congress requires incumbent carriers to provide: (i) New entrants must receive a level of interconnection that is indistinguishable and at least equal in quality to that provided by an incumbent carrier to itself; and (ii) new entrants must have access to the operations support systems that incumbent carriers use to process orders from their own customers.

(2) The legislature further finds that:

(a) Unlike robust wholesale markets where market forces furnish wholesalers with the necessary incentive to provide timely and quality services to their buyers, as the single supplier of wholesale facilities and services in the local market, incumbent telecommunications carriers have no such incentive particularly when purchasers of their wholesale offerings are also their retail competitors; and

(b) Carrier-to-carrier service quality standards are a fair and objective mechanism through which competing carriers can monitor incumbent carriers' compliance, and incumbent carriers can demonstrate their compliance, with statutory obligations thereby: (i) Creating an important incentive for compliance; (ii) reducing the need for regulatory oversight by encouraging self-policing; and (iii) providing necessary information to facilitate timely and fair resolution of complaints when regulatory intervention is required.

(3) The legislature therefore intends to:

(a) Promote more efficient competition between incumbent carriers and new entrants by requiring carrier-to-carrier service quality standards related to access to interconnection and operations support systems;

(b) Direct the commission to establish carrier-to-carrier service quality standards in such a way as to accomplish the following goals: (i) Promote more efficient and effective communication between incumbent carriers and competing carriers; (ii) make more transparent the extent to which incumbent carriers are meeting their statutory obligations to provide to competing carriers, in a nondiscriminatory and just and reasonable manner, the services and facilities incumbent carriers use to provide retail services to their own customers; and (iii) fairly balance the need for information about an incumbent carrier's performance against the burdens imposed on an incumbent carrier in generating and distributing this information.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 6 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Efficient and effective communication" means communication that allows a competing carrier to: (a) Access the customer data necessary to sign up customers; (b) place orders for services or facilities with the incumbent; (c) track the progress of those orders to completion; (d) receive relevant billing information from the incumbent; and (e) obtain prompt repair and maintenance for the elements and services it obtains from the incumbent.

(2) "Incumbent carrier" means an incumbent local exchange carrier, as that term is defined in the telecommunications act of 1996, P.L. 104-104 (110 Stat. 56).

(3) "Operations support systems" means the computer systems, data bases, and personnel that incumbent carriers rely upon to discharge the internal functions, including: (a) Preordering; (b) ordering; (c) provisioning; (d) maintenance and repair; and (e) billing, necessary to provide service to their customers.

(4) "Performance measurements" means the measures used to collect data regarding an incumbent carrier's performance, such as the period of time it takes to order and provision a resold service.

(5) "Performance standards" means specific performance goals or benchmarks, such as a requirement that an incumbent carrier complete all or some percentage of its resale orders for residential service within a specified period of time.

(6) "Reporting requirements" means the obligations of incumbent carriers to collect performance measurements and provide the results of those measurements to other parties.

(7) "Technical standards" means the establishment of industry-wide operations support systems interface specifications.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. INCUMBENT CARRIER DUTIES. (1) An incumbent carrier has a duty to provide interconnection between its network and that of a requesting carrier at a level of quality that is at least indistinguishable from that which the incumbent provides itself, a subsidiary, an affiliate, or any other party.

(2)(a) For those operations support systems provided to competing carriers that are analogous to functions that an incumbent carrier provides itself in connection with retail service offerings, an incumbent carrier has a duty to provide access to competing carriers that is equivalent to the level of access that the incumbent provides itself in terms of quality, accuracy, and timeliness; and (b) for those operations support system functions that have no direct retail analog, an incumbent carrier has a duty to provide access sufficient to allow an efficient competitor a meaningful opportunity to compete.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION RULES REGARDING INTERCONNECTION AND OPERATIONS SUPPORT SYSTEMS. (1) Not later than September 1, 1999, the commission shall adopt by rule performance measurements that gauge the timeliness and quality of an incumbent carrier's interconnection with competing carriers.

(2) Not later than September 1, 1999, the commission shall adopt by rule performance measurements that gauge an incumbent carrier's ability to provision operations support systems to competing carriers in terms of timeliness, quality, and accuracy.

(3) The rules adopted under this section shall not include technical standards.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT REPORTS. (1) For each of the performance measurements adopted under section 4 of this act, the commission rules shall specify which incumbent carriers must make performance measurement reports and under what circumstances, who may receive performance measurement reports and under what circumstances, the frequency with which reports must be generated and distributed, and appropriate auditing procedures.

(2) The rules shall not require performance measurement reports by any rural telephone company that is exempt from section 251(c) of the telecommunications act of 1996, P.L. 104-104 (110 Stat. 56).

(3) The rules shall allow, at a minimum, all competing carriers that are currently obtaining services or facilities from an incumbent carrier through an interconnection agreement or under a statement of generally available terms to receive the incumbent carrier's required reports upon request. The rules may allow other groups of carriers, such as those considering whether to enter a market, the commission, and the general public, to receive reports upon request if the commission finds it is in the public interest to do so. If access is granted to these additional recipients, the rules shall address whether it is appropriate to limit access to only aggregate competing carrier measurement results or provide alternative ways to protect competitive information.

(4) The rules shall require that reports on performance measurements be made no less frequently than once per quarter and no more frequently than once per month. The rules may specify different reporting intervals for different performance measurements as the commission finds necessary to balance the benefits and burdens of frequent reporting.

(5) The rules shall: (a) Require incumbent carriers to retain the data used in generating performance measurement reports for no less than two years; and (b) include a mechanism for the commission or competing carriers to conduct periodic audits of the reports as necessary to ensure that incumbent carriers are using appropriate methodologies and are accurately reporting the requirement measurements. The rules may also specify the conditions, other than during an audit, under which an incumbent carrier must provide to the commission or a competing carrier the raw data underlying a performance measurement report.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS. (1) In adopting its carrier-to-carrier service quality rules, the commission shall consider all practical methodologies that would further the goal of injecting more consistency and predictability into determining whether an incumbent carrier is meeting its statutory obligations to provide interconnection and operations support systems. Wherever possible, the rules shall also identify performance standards for evaluating when an incumbent carrier's performance warrants further regulatory scrutiny.

(2) The commission shall consider, and periodically review, the performance measurements and performance standards adopted and proposed by the federal communications commission and other state commissions in an effort to promote regional consistency and reduce unnecessarily duplicative or inconsistent requirements.

PART II

INTERCONNECTION ENFORCEMENT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The commission is authorized and directed to:

(a) Resolve disputes arising under or pertaining to approved interconnection agreements, including: (i) The proper interpretation of terms and conditions; (ii) implementation of activities explicitly provided for or implicitly contemplated in the agreements; and (iii) enforcement of the terms and conditions of the agreements;

(b) Enforce carrier-to-carrier service quality rules adopted under sections 1 through 6 of this act; and

The powers authorized in this section are in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other powers granted to the commission. The remedies authorized in this section are in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other remedies available at law to the parties.

(2) When the commission finds after notice and hearing that a person has engaged in or is about to engage in an act or practice constituting a violation of the terms or conditions of an interconnection agreement or the commission's carrier-to-carrier service quality rules, the commission shall issue an order directing the person to cease and desist from continuing the act or practice. The commission may also award additional remedies or relief as necessary and appropriate, including:

(a) Specific performance of any obligation created in or found by the commission to be intended under the interconnection agreement subject to the dispute and reasonable timelines in which to comply;

(b) Penalties in an amount commensurate with the actual damages suffered by the injured party or up to twenty-five thousand dollars per violation per day commencing from the date the commission finds the violation to have first occurred and continuing through the date the violation is corrected;

(c) Sanctions for abuse or frustration of the dispute resolution process adopted under subsection (5) of this section or for a violation of a cease and desist order issued under this section, including but not limited to penalties in an amount commensurate with treble damages or up to seventy-five thousand dollars per violation per day commencing from the date the commission finds the violation to have first occurred and continuing through the date the violation is corrected; and

(d) Sanctions for willful or intentional violations or a series of repeated violations by a party, including but not limited to penalties in an amount commensurate with treble damages or up to seventy-five thousand dollars per violation per day commencing from the date the commission finds the violation to have first occurred and continuing through the date the violation is corrected.

(3) Whenever it appears to the commission that interconnection or carrier-to-carrier service quality conditions exist that require immediate action to protect the ability of a party to provide uninterrupted service to a customer or preclude the provisioning of any firm order confirmations, functionality, or network element, the commission may issue a written show cause or temporary cease and desist order, or both, to the person or persons responsible without prior notice or hearing. Such an order may direct and afford the person or persons responsible the alternative of either:

(a) Immediately discontinuing or modifying the offending conduct; or

(b) Appearing before the commission at the time and place specified in the written order for the purpose of providing to the commission information pertaining to the violations and conditions alleged in the written order. A temporary cease and desist order is effective immediately upon delivery to the person affected, remains in effect until ten days after the hearing is held, and becomes final if the person to whom notice is addressed does not request a hearing within fourteen days after receipt of the notice. When requested by a party other than the commission, no temporary cease and desist order shall be granted under this subsection until the party requesting it enters into a bond, in such a sum as fixed by the commission granting the order, with surety to the satisfaction of the commission, conditioned to pay all damages and costs which may accrue by reason of the temporary cease and desist order.

(4) If the commission finds that a party subject to an interconnection agreement, the carrier-to-carrier service quality rules, or a show cause or cease and desist order has engaged in a series of repeated willful or intentional violations, the commission shall impose sanctions in addition to the remedies set forth in subsections (2) and (3) of this section. In determining the nature and severity of the sanctions, the commission shall consider the extent of the harm caused to other carriers and their customers, the relevant market share of the violating party, the impact of the violations to the establishment of competition and the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability, and the public interest. Sanctions imposed under this subsection may include:

(a) Monetary penalties of up to one hundred thousand dollars per finding;

(b) Commission oversight or regulation specifically tailored to monitor and ensure compliance for such a period of time as necessary to correct the offending conduct; or

(c) An order to structurally or functionally separate or divest a portion of the offending party's network or service offerings, except that this sanction shall not be ordered unless the commission finds that the monetary penalties and commission oversight or regulation have failed to correct the offending conduct.

(5) The commission shall adopt by rule dispute resolution and enforcement procedures for implementing this section. The rules shall specify, at a minimum:

(a) Parties eligible to utilize the procedures, including any telecommunications company that is party to an approved interconnection agreement or statement of generally available terms and any customer aggrieved by a violation of such an agreement or statement;

(b) The circumstances under which interim and final commission orders to resolve disputes must be issued and reconsidered by the commission within specified timelines, including separate timelines for: (i) Formal dispute resolution which may be no longer than ninety days, with no longer than fifteen days for reconsideration; (ii) expedited dispute resolution which may be no longer than twenty days, with no longer than five days for reconsideration; and (iii) interim rulings which may be no longer than three days. Such timelines may not be extended except upon agreement of the parties or a finding by the commission of extraordinary conditions warranting delay;

(d) Required notice periods and acceptable methods of service;

(e) Applicable rules of discovery;

(f) The parties' obligations to participate in a mandatory, nonbinding mediation session, and, if requested by any party, an informal settlement conference; and

(g) Appropriate bond amounts and surety requirements for the issuance of temporary cease and desist orders.

(6) To the extent that any provisions of this section or the rules adopted under this section conflict with the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative procedure act, this section and the rules adopted under it shall govern.

Sec. 8. RCW 80.01.060 and 1995 c 331 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commission may designate employees of the commission as hearing examiners, administrative law judges, and review judges when it deems such action necessary for its general administration. The designated employees have power to administer oaths, to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers, waybills, books, accounts, documents, and testimony, to examine witnesses, and to receive testimony in any inquiry, investigation, hearing, or proceeding in any part of the state, under such rules as the commission may adopt.

(2) In general rate increase filings by a natural gas, electric, or telecommunications company, the designated employee may preside, but may not enter an initial order unless expressly agreed to in writing by the company making the filing. In all other cases, the designated employee may enter an initial order including findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with RCW 34.05.461(1)(a) and (c) and (3) through (9) or 34.05.485. RCW 34.05.461 (1)(b) and (2) do not apply to entry of orders under this section.

(3) The designated employee may not enter final orders, except that the commission may designate persons by rule to preside and enter final orders in emergency adjudications under RCW 34.05.479 and dispute resolution proceedings under section 7 of this act. The designated employee may not enter show cause or cease and desist orders except that the commission may designate persons by rule to preside and enter show cause or cease and desist orders in dispute resolution proceedings under section 7 of this act.

((~~(3)~~)) (4) If the designated employee does not enter an initial order as provided in subsection (2) of this section, then a majority of the members of the commission who are to enter the final order must hear or review substantially all of the record submitted by any party.

PART III

PRICE CAPS AND COMPETITIVE CLASSIFICATIONS

Sec. 9. RCW 80.36.300 and 1985 c 450 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature declares it is the policy of the state to:

(1) Preserve affordable universal telecommunications service;

(2) Maintain and advance the efficiency and availability of telecommunications service, including the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capabilities to all citizens of the state;

(3) Ensure that customers pay only reasonable charges for telecommunications service;

(4) Ensure that rates for noncompetitive telecommunications services do not subsidize the competitive ventures of regulated telecommunications companies;

(5) Promote diversity in the supply of telecommunications services and products in telecommunications markets throughout the state; and

(6) Permit flexible regulation of competitive telecommunications companies and services.

Sec. 10. RCW 80.36.135 and 1995 c 110 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The legislature declares that((:

~~(a)~~)) changes in technology and the structure of the telecommunications industry ((~~may produce~~)) have produced conditions under which traditional rate of return, rate base regulation of telecommunications companies ((~~may~~)) does not ((~~in all cases~~)) provide the most efficient and effective means of achieving the public policy goals of this state as declared in RCW 80.36.300, this section, section 11 of this act, and RCW 80.36.145. The commission ((~~should be~~)) is therefore authorized and directed to employ an alternative form of regulation ((if)) when that alternative is better suited to achieving those policy goals.

(((b) Because of the great diversity in the scope and type of services provided by telecommunications companies, alternative regulatory arrangements that meet the varying circumstances of different companies and their ratepayers may be desirable.))

(2)(a) Subject to the conditions set forth in this chapter and RCW 80.04.130, the commission may regulate telecommunications companies subject before July 23, 1989, to traditional rate of return, rate base regulation by authorizing an alternative form of regulation under this chapter.

(b) Subject to the conditions set forth in this chapter, an incumbent local exchange carrier may elect to have the rates, terms, and conditions for its telecommunications services determined under a price cap form of regulation as provided for in section 11 of this act.

(3) The commission may determine the manner and extent of any alternative forms of regulation as may in the public interest be appropriate. In addition to the public policy goals declared in RCW 80.36.300, the commission shall consider, in determining the appropriateness of any proposed alternative form of regulation, whether it will:

(a) Reduce regulatory delay and costs;

(b) Encourage innovation in services;

(d) Facilitate the broad dissemination of technological improvements to all classes of ratepayers;

(e) Enhance the ability of telecommunications companies to respond to competition;

(f) Ensure that telecommunications companies do not have the opportunity to exercise substantial market power absent effective competition or effective regulatory constraints; and

(g) Provide fair, just, and reasonable rates for all ratepayers.

The commission shall make written findings of fact as to each of the above-stated policy goals in ruling on any proposed alternative form of regulation.

((~~(3)~~)) (4) A telecommunications company or companies subject to traditional rate of return, rate base regulation may petition the commission to establish an alternative form of regulation. The company or companies shall submit with the petition a plan for an alternative form of regulation. The plan shall contain a proposal for transition to the alternative form of regulation. The commission shall review and may modify or reject the proposed plan. The commission also may initiate consideration of alternative forms of regulation for a company or companies on its own motion. The commission may approve the plan or modified plan and authorize its implementation, if it finds, after notice and hearing, that the plan or modified plan:

(a) Is in the public interest;

(b) Is necessary to respond to such changes in technology and the structure of the intrastate telecommunications industry as are in fact occurring;

(c) Is better suited to achieving the policy goals set forth in RCW 80.36.300 and this section than the traditional rate of return, rate base regulation;

(d) Ensures that ratepayers will benefit from any efficiency gains and cost savings arising out of the regulatory change and will afford ratepayers the opportunity to benefit from improvements in productivity due to technological change;

(e) Will not result in a degradation of the quality or availability of efficient telecommunications services;

(f) Will produce fair, just, and reasonable rates for telecommunications services; and

(g) Will not unduly or unreasonably prejudice or disadvantage any particular customer class.

(((4) Not later than sixty days from the entry of the commission's order, the company or companies affected by the order may file with the commission an election not to proceed with the alternative form of regulation as authorized by the commission. If a company elects to appeal to the courts the final order of the commission authorizing an alternative form of regulation, it shall not change its election to proceed or not proceed after the appeal is concluded. The pendency of a petition by a company for judicial review of the final order shall not serve to extend the sixty-day period.))

(5) The commission may waive such regulatory requirements under Title 80 RCW for a telecommunications company subject to an alternative form of regulation as may be appropriate to facilitate the implementation of this section: PROVIDED, That the commission may not grant the authority to price list services except as provided in RCW 80.36.300 through 80.36.370, the regulatory flexibility act, nor may it waive any statutory requirements or grants of legal rights to any person contained in this chapter and chapter 80.04 RCW as amended, except as otherwise expressly provided. The commission may waive different regulatory requirements for different companies or services if such different treatment is in the public interest.

(6) Upon petition by any person, or upon its own motion, the commission may rescind its approval of an alternative form of regulation if, after notice and hearing, it finds that the conditions set forth in subsection ((~~(3)~~)) (4) of this section can no longer be satisfied. The commission or any person may file a complaint alleging that the rates charged by a telecommunications company under an alternative form of regulation are unfair, unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory, or are otherwise not consistent with the requirements of chapter 101, Laws of 1989: PROVIDED, That the complainant shall bear the burden of proving the allegations in the complaint.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) An incumbent local exchange carrier seeking to broadly deploy advanced telecommunications services and high bandwidth infrastructure throughout the state or its service area may elect to be subject to price regulation under this section. Unless extended by the electing carrier, or for good cause by the commission, an election under this section shall become effective not later than one hundred eighty days after receipt by the commission of a completed notice of intent.

(2) An electing carrier shall file with the commission a notice of its intent to broadly deploy advanced telecommunications capabilities in a reasonable and timely manner throughout the state or its existing service area, including the specific infrastructure or service deployment commitments the carrier will certify on an annual basis to the commission. Specific infrastructure and service deployment commitments filed under this subsection shall be exempt from public disclosure until sixty days after the end of the year for which they were filed. For the purposes of this subsection, an intent to broadly deploy advanced telecommunications capabilities in a reasonable and timely manner means deployment that results, within five years, in at least seventy-five percent of the nonresidential access lines provisioned by the electing carrier in counties with a population density of fewer than one hundred persons per square mile being capable of transmitting data at a rate of at least one megabit per second.

(3) Upon the effective date of an election made under this section, price regulation shall replace the rate‑base, rate‑of‑return form of regulation by the commission of the electing carrier. The commission shall not consider rate‑of‑return, rate‑base or the earnings of an electing carrier in connection with its oversight of an electing carrier's operations.

(4) The rates, tolls, rentals, and charges contained in an electing carrier's approved tariffs and end‑user contracts on the effective date of the election shall be the maximum the electing carrier may charge for such services, except that:

(a) An electing carrier may reduce the rates, tolls, rentals, and charges contained in any such tariffs or end-user contracts without commission approval, effective on ten days' notice;

(b) This subsection does not apply to any services later classified as competitive under RCW 80.36.310; and

(c) The commission shall adjust the rates contained in any such tariffs for basic telecommunications services if the number of local exchanges served by the electing carrier changes by more than five percent, or the number of access lines served by the electing carrier changes by more than ten percent, after an electing company has filed its notice of intent under this section.

(5) The rates, tolls, rentals, and charges for services not subject to subsection (4) of this section may be established by filing a tariff, end-user contract, or price list with the commission as provided for in RCW 80.36.100, 80.36.150, and 80.36.330, and may be changed as provided for in RCW 80.36.110.

(6) An electing carrier may package for sale any service subject to subsection (4) of this section with any of the other services it or its affiliates may offer, with or without a discount, provided that the electing carrier shall continue to make the price-capped service available separately, at the rate, toll, rental, or charge and under the same terms and conditions as required by subsection (4) of this section.

(7) An electing carrier shall be exempt from regulatory requirements necessary only for rate-based, rate-of-return regulation, including RCW 80.04.300 through 80.04.360 and any related rules adopted by the commission.

(8) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the commission's or any party's right to enforce:

(a) The carrier-to-carrier service quality rules adopted under sections 1 through 6 of this act;

(b) The commission's retail service quality rules; and

(c) Any preexisting commission or court order relating to service quality issued to the electing carrier prior to its election under this section.

Sec. 12. RCW 80.36.330 and 1998 c 337 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commission may classify a telecommunications service provided by a telecommunications company as a competitive telecommunications service if the service is subject to effective competition within the relevant geographic and product market and customer class. Effective competition means that customers of the service have reasonably available alternatives and that the service is not provided to a significant captive customer base. In determining whether a service is competitive, factors the commission shall consider include but are not limited to:

(a) The number and size of alternative providers of services;

(b) The extent to which services are available from alternative providers in the relevant geographic and product market to the relevant customer class or classes;

(c) The ability of alternative providers to make functionally equivalent or substitute services readily available at competitive rates, terms, and conditions to a majority of customers within the relevant geographic and product market and the relevant customer class or classes; and

(d) Other indicators of market power, which may include market share, growth in market share, ease of entry, and the affiliation of providers of services. For the purposes of this subsection, a relevant geographic market may include the exchange or wire center serving area of the telecommunications company seeking the competitive classification.

(2) When the commission finds that a telecommunications company has demonstrated that a telecommunications service is competitive, the commission may permit the service to be provided under a price list effective on ten days notice to the commission and customers. The commission shall prescribe the form of notice. The commission may adopt procedural rules necessary to implement this section.

(3) Prices or rates charged for competitive telecommunications services shall cover their cost. The commission shall determine proper cost standards to implement this section, provided that in making any assignment of costs or allocating any revenue requirement, the commission shall act to preserve affordable universal telecommunications service.

(4) The commission may investigate prices for competitive telecommunications services upon complaint. In any complaint proceeding initiated by the commission, the telecommunications company providing the service shall bear the burden of proving that the prices charged cover cost, and are fair, just, and reasonable.

(5) Telecommunications companies shall provide the commission with all data it deems necessary to implement this section.

(6) No losses incurred by a telecommunications company in the provision of competitive services may be recovered through rates for noncompetitive services. The commission may order refunds or credits to any class of subscribers to a noncompetitive telecommunications service which has paid excessive rates because of below cost pricing of competitive telecommunications services.

(7) The commission may reclassify any competitive telecommunications service if reclassification would protect the public interest.

(8) The commission may waive the requirements of RCW 80.36.170 and 80.36.180 in whole or in part for a service classified as competitive if it finds that competition will serve the same purpose and protect the public interest.

PART IV

MISCELLANEOUS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Section captions and part headings used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Sections 1 through 7 and 11 of this act are each added to chapter 80.36 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Sections 1 through 7 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately.