H-3794.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2507

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Representatives Radcliff, Conway, Cooper, Ogden, Ruderman, Kessler, Clements, D. Sommers, Santos, Lantz, Esser, O'Brien and Kagi

Read first time 01/14/2000.  Referred to Committee on Technology, Telecommunications & Energy.

Creating a telephone solicitation no sales call list.

    AN ACT Relating to commercial telephone solicitation; amending RCW 19.158.110; adding new sections to chapter 43.10 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 19.158 RCW; and providing for submission of this act to a vote of the people.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 43.10 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) The attorney general shall establish and maintain a no sales call list.  The no sales call list shall contain the name and telephone number or numbers of residents who do not want to receive telephone solicitation calls.  Residents must register with, and pay a fee to, the attorney general to appear on the no sales call list.

    (2) The attorney general shall:

    (a) Update the no sales call list twice yearly;

    (b) Determine the fee for a resident to register for the no sales call list.  The fee shall not be more than ten dollars per person, per year, nor shall the fee be more than is required for the attorney general to create and administer the list.  Fees received under this section must be deposited in the attorney general's no sales call list account, created in section 2 of this act; and

    (c) Provide the most up-to-date no sales call list to telephone solicitors.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.10 RCW to read as follows:

    The attorney general's no sales call list account is created in the custody of the state treasurer.  All receipts from fees received under section 1 of this act must be deposited into the account.  Expenditures from the account may be used only for establishing and maintaining the no sales call list created in section 1 of this act.  Only the attorney general or the attorney general's designee may authorize expenditures from the account.  The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 19.158 RCW to read as follows:

    A person who does not want to receive unsolicited telephone sales calls may register and be placed on the attorney general's no sales call list, created in section 1 of this act.

    Sec. 4.  RCW 19.158.110 and 1989 c 20 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Within the first minute of the telephone call, a commercial telephone solicitor or salesperson shall:

    (a) Identify himself or herself, the company on whose behalf the solicitation is being made, the property, goods, or services being sold; and

    (b) Terminate the telephone call within ten seconds if the purchaser indicates he or she does not wish to continue the conversation.

    (2) If at any time during the telephone contact, the purchaser states or indicates that he or she does not wish to be called again by the commercial telephone solicitor or wants to have his or her name and individual telephone number removed from the telephone lists used by the commercial telephone solicitor:

    (a) The commercial telephone solicitor shall not make any additional commercial telephone solicitation of the called party at that telephone number within a period of at least one year; and

    (b) The commercial telephone solicitor shall not sell or give the called party's name and telephone number to another commercial telephone solicitor:  PROVIDED, That the commercial  telephone solicitor may return the list, including the called party's name and telephone number, to the company or organization from which it received the list.

    (3) No commercial telephone solicitor or salesperson may make or cause to be made any unsolicited telephone call to a residential, mobile, or telephonic paging device telephone number if the number for the telephone appears in the current no sales call list published by the attorney general under the authority of section 1 of this act.

(4) The utilities and transportation commission shall by rule ensure that telecommunications companies inform their residential customers of the provisions of this section.  The notification may be made by:

    (a) Annual inserts in the billing statements mailed to residential customers; or

    (b) Conspicuous publication of the notice in the consumer information pages of local telephone directories.

    (((4))) (5) If a sale or an agreement to purchase is completed, the commercial telephone solicitor must inform the purchaser of his or her cancellation rights as enunciated in this chapter, state the registration number issued by the department of licensing, and give the street address of the seller.

    (((5))) (6) If, at any time prior to sale or agreement to purchase, the commercial telephone solicitor's registration number is requested by the purchaser, it must be provided.

    (((6))) (7) All oral disclosures required by this section shall be made in a clear and intelligible manner.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.  The secretary of state shall submit this act to the people for their adoption and ratification, or rejection, at the next general election to be held in this state, in accordance with RCW 43.135.090.

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