CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

 

               SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1037

 

 

                   Chapter 289, Laws of 1999

 

 

                        56th Legislature

                      1999 Regular Session

 

 

COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL--TRANSMISSION

 

 

 

                    EFFECTIVE DATE:  7/25/99

Passed by the House April 24, 1999

  Yeas 95   Nays 1

 

 

        JOHN E. PENNINGTON, JR.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

     

 

 

              FRANK CHOPP

Speaker of the House of Representatives

 

 

 

Passed by the Senate April 23, 1999

  Yeas 44   Nays 2

             CERTIFICATE

 

We, Dean R. Foster and Timothy A. Martin, Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1037  as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

 

 

 

           DEAN R. FOSTER

                          Chief Clerk

 

 

          TIMOTHY A. MARTIN

                          Chief Clerk

               BRAD OWEN

President of the Senate

 

 

 

Approved May 13, 1999 Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.           

                                FILED                 

 

             May 13, 1999 - 3:39 p.m.

 

              GARY LOCKE

Governor of the State of Washington

                 Secretary of State

                 State of Washington


          _______________________________________________

 

                 SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1037

          _______________________________________________

 

                     AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

 

             Passed Legislature - 1999 Regular Session

 

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Bush, Morris and Ruderman)

 

Read first time 03/08/1999.

  Creating a registry of Washington resident's electronic mail addresses to facilitate a program that allows private interactive computer service providers to limit unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages.     


    AN ACT Relating to commercial electronic mail; amending RCW 19.190.010, 19.190.020, and 19.190.030; and repealing RCW 19.190.005.

 

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

 

    Sec. 1.  RCW 19.190.010 and 1998 c 149 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

    (1) "Assist the transmission" means actions taken by a person to provide substantial assistance or support which enables any person to formulate, compose, send, originate, initiate, or transmit a  commercial electronic mail message when the person providing the assistance knows or consciously avoids knowing that the initiator of the commercial electronic mail message is engaged, or intends to engage, in any practice that violates the consumer protection act.

    (2) "Commercial electronic mail message" means an electronic mail message sent for the purpose of promoting real property, goods, or services for sale or lease.  It does not mean an electronic mail message to which an interactive computer service provider has attached an advertisement in exchange for free use of an electronic mail account, when the sender has agreed to such an arrangement.

    (((2))) (3) "Electronic mail address" means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, to which electronic mail may be sent or delivered.

    (((3))) (4) "Initiate the transmission" refers to the action by the original sender of an electronic mail message, not to the action by any intervening interactive computer service that may handle or retransmit the message, unless such intervening interactive computer service assists in the transmission of an electronic mail message when it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, that the person initiating the transmission is engaged, or intends to engage, in any act or practice that violates the consumer protection act.

    (((4))) (5) "Interactive computer service" means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.

    (((5))) (6) "Internet domain name" refers to a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an internet host or service, assigned through centralized internet naming authorities, comprising a series of character strings separated by periods, with the right-most string specifying the top of the hierarchy.

    (7) "Person" means a person, corporation, partnership, or association.

 

    Sec. 2.  RCW 19.190.020 and 1998 c 149 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) No person((, corporation, partnership, or association)) may initiate the transmission, conspire with another to initiate the transmission, or assist the transmission, of a commercial electronic mail message from a computer located in Washington or to an electronic mail address that the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a Washington resident that:

    (a) Uses a third party's internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents or obscures any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; or

    (b) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line.

    (2) For purposes of this section, a person((, corporation, partnership, or association)) knows that the intended recipient of a commercial electronic mail message is a Washington resident if that information is available, upon request, from the registrant of the internet domain name contained in the recipient's electronic mail address.

 

    Sec. 3.  RCW 19.190.030 and 1998 c 149 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) It is a violation of the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, to conspire with another person to initiate the transmission or to initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message that:

    (a) Uses a third party's internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents or obscures any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; or

    (b) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line.

    (2) It is a violation of the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, to assist in the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message, when the person providing the assistance knows, or consciously avoids knowing, that the initiator of the commercial electronic mail message is engaged, or intends to engage, in any act or practice that violates the consumer protection act.

    (3) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.  A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  RCW 19.190.005 (Findings) and 1998 c 149 s 1 are each repealed.


    Passed the House April 24, 1999.

    Passed the Senate April 23, 1999.

Approved by the Governor May 13, 1999.

    Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 13, 1999.