S‑1821.1   _____________________________________________

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5132

           _____________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Economic Development & Telecommunications (originally sponsored by Senators Kastama, B. Sheldon, Rasmussen, Franklin, Snyder, Prentice, Costa, Fraser, McAuliffe, Kohl‑Welles, Fairley, Jacobsen, Kline, Winsley and Eide)

READ FIRST TIME 02/22/01. 

_1      AN ACT Relating to commercial telephone solicitation; amending

_2  RCW 19.158.110; adding new sections to chapter 19.158 RCW;

_3  prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

_4  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_5      Sec. 1.  RCW 19.158.110 and 1989 c 20 s 11 are each amended to read

_6  as follows:

_7      (1) Within the first minute of the telephone call, a commercial

_8  telephone solicitor or salesperson shall:

_9      (a) Identify himself or herself, the company on whose behalf

10  the solicitation is being made, the property, goods, or services

11  being sold; and

12      (b) Terminate the telephone call within ten seconds if the

13  purchaser indicates he or she does not wish to continue the

14  conversation.

15      (2) If at any time during the telephone contact, the purchaser

16  states or indicates that he or she does not wish to be called

17  again by the commercial telephone solicitor or wants to have his

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_1  or her name and individual telephone number removed from the

_2  telephone lists used by the commercial telephone solicitor:

_3      (a) The commercial telephone solicitor shall not make any

_4  additional commercial telephone solicitation of the called party

_5  at that telephone number within a period of at least one year; and

_6      (b) The commercial telephone solicitor shall not sell or give

_7  the called party's name and telephone number to another commercial

_8  telephone solicitor:  PROVIDED, That the commercial  telephone

_9  solicitor may return the list, including the called party's name

10  and telephone number, to the company or organization from which it

11  received the list.

12      (3) The utilities and transportation commission shall by rule

13  ensure that telecommunications companies inform their residential

14  customers of the provisions of this section and section 2 of this

15  act.  The notification may be made by:

16      (a) Annual inserts in the billing statements mailed to

17  residential customers; or

18      (b) Conspicuous publication of the notice in the consumer

19  information pages of local telephone directories.

20      (4) If a sale or an agreement to purchase is completed, the

21  commercial telephone solicitor must inform the purchaser of his or

22  her cancellation rights as enunciated in this chapter, state the

23  registration number issued by the department of licensing, and

24  give the street address of the seller.

25      (5) If, at any time prior to sale or agreement to purchase, the

26  commercial telephone solicitor's registration number is requested

27  by the purchaser, it must be provided.

28      (6) All oral disclosures required by this section shall be made

29  in a clear and intelligible manner.

30      NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 19.158

31  RCW to read as follows:

32      (1)(a) The department of licensing shall provide for the

33  establishment and operation of a list of telephone numbers of

34  persons who object to receiving commercial telephone

35  solicitations.  The list shall be called the do not call list.  The

36  department shall update the list quarterly, and shall provide the

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_1  list, in written or electronic form, to commercial telephone

_2  solicitors.

_3      (b) No fee may be charged to a person for placing a telephone

_4  number on the list.  No fee may be charged to a person to inspect or

_5  obtain the list.

_6      (c) The department of licensing shall establish an annual fee,

_7  charged under this section, to maintain the do not call list in

_8  this subsection (1).  The fee shall be sufficient to support the

_9  costs of administering and enforcing this section.  Commercial

10  telephone solicitors subject to regulation under this chapter

11  shall pay the annual maintenance fee before doing business in this

12  state.

13      (d) Persons wishing to have their phone numbers placed on the

14  list must notify the department of licensing.  A listing shall be

15  effective for two years, after which the person may renew the

16  listing for successive two-year periods by notifying the

17  department of licensing.  The department of licensing shall

18  determine the notification requirements.

19      (e) All fees collected by the department of licensing under

20  this section, and civil penalties and attorneys' fees collected by

21  the attorney general in enforcing this section, shall be deposited

22  in the commercial telephone solicitation account created in

23  section 3 of this act, and used solely for the administration of

24  this section.

25      (2) No commercial telephone solicitor may make a commercial

26  telephone solicitation to any telephone number more than sixty

27  days after the number appears on the current do not call list.

28      (3) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this

29  section are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the

30  purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86

31  RCW.  A violation of this section is not reasonable in relation to

32  the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or

33  deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of

34  competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection

35  act, chapter 19.86 RCW.  In addition to any other penalties or

36  remedies available under this chapter or chapter 19.86 RCW, a

37  person injured by a violation of subsection (2) of this section

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_1  may bring an action for recovery of liquidated damages in the

_2  amount of one thousand dollars per violation, plus court costs and

_3  attorneys' fees.

_4      (4) The director of the department of licensing may make rules,

_5  create forms, and issue orders as necessary to carry out the

_6  provisions of this section.

_7     NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 19.158

_8  RCW to read as follows:

_9      The commercial telephone solicitation account is created in the

10  custody of the state treasurer.  All moneys received by the

11  department under section 2 of this act and civil penalties and

12  attorneys' fees collected by the attorney general in enforcing

13  section 2 of this act shall be deposited in the commercial

14  telephone solicitation account and used solely for the

15  administration of section 2 of this act.  Only the director of the

16  department of licensing or the director's designee may authorize

17  expenditures from the account.  The account is subject to allotment

18  procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is

19  required for expenditures.

20      NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  This act takes effect January 1, 2002.

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