H-4685.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2672

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Radcliff, Keiser, Ruderman, O'Brien and Esser)

Read first time 02/07/2000.  Referred to Committee on .

Creating a telephone solicitation no sales call list.

    AN ACT Relating to commercial telephone solicitation; amending RCW 19.158.110; adding a new section to chapter 80.01 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 19.158 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 80.01 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) The commission 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 at no charge with the commission to appear on the no sales call list.

    (2) The commission shall:

    (a) Update the no sales call list monthly;

    (b) Determine the method of making the current list available at no charge to commercial telephone solicitors; and

    (c) Inform the resident that, once registered, it may take up to one hundred twenty days to experience a reduction in commercial solicitation calls.

    (3) The commission has the authority to contract with a third party to maintain the no sales call list.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  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 Washington utilities and transportation commission's no sales call list, created in section 1 of this act.

    Sec. 3.  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 Washington utilities and transportation commission 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. 4.  If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2000, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

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