S 0634

S‑0634.1 _____________________________________________

SENATE BILL 5132

_____________________________________________

State of Washington 57th Legislature 2001 Regular Session

By Senators Kastama, B. Sheldon, Rasmussen, Franklin, Snyder, Prentice, Costa, Fraser, McAuliffe, Kohl‑Welles, Fairley, Jacobsen, Kline, Winsley and Eide

Read first time 01/12/2001. Referred to Committee on Economic Development & Telecommunications.

_1 AN ACT Relating to the establishment and operation of a do not

_2 call list for commercial telephone solicitation; amending RCW

_3 19.158.110 and 43.79A.040; adding new sections to chapter 19.158

_4 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

_5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_6 Sec. 1. RCW 19.158.110 and 1989 c 20 s 11 are each amended to read

_7 as follows:

_8 (1) Within the first minute of the telephone call, a commercial

_9 telephone solicitor or salesperson shall:

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

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

12 being sold; and

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

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

15 conversation.

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

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

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_1 again by the commercial telephone solicitor or wants to have his

_2 or her name and individual telephone number removed from the

_3 telephone lists used by the commercial telephone solicitor:

_4 (a) The commercial telephone solicitor shall not make any

_5 additional commercial telephone solicitation of the called party

_6 at that telephone number within a period of at least one year; and

_7 (b) The commercial telephone solicitor shall not sell or give

_8 the called party's name and telephone number to another commercial

_9 telephone solicitor: PROVIDED, That the commercial telephone

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

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

12 received the list.

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

14 ensure that telecommunications companies inform their residential

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

16 act. The notification may be made by:

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

18 residential customers; or

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

20 information pages of local telephone directories.

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

22 commercial telephone solicitor must inform the purchaser of his or

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

24 registration number issued by the department of licensing, and

25 give the street address of the seller.

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

27 commercial telephone solicitor's registration number is requested

28 by the purchaser, it must be provided.

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

30 in a clear and intelligible manner.

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

32 RCW to read as follows:

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

34 establishment and operation of a list of telephone numbers of

35 persons who object to receiving commercial telephone

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

37 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 for a reasonable fee. The department shall determine the

_3 fee amount.

_4 (b) Persons wishing to have their phone numbers placed on the

_5 list must notify the department of licensing. A listing shall be

_6 effective for one year, after which the person may renew the

_7 listing for successive one-year periods by notifying the

_8 department of licensing. The department of licensing shall

_9 determine the notification requirements.

10 (c) All fees collected by the department of licensing under

11 this section, or civil penalties collected by the attorney general

12 in enforcing this section, shall be deposited in the commercial

13 telephone solicitation list account created in section 3 of this

14 act, and used solely for the administration of this section.

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

16 telephone solicitation to any telephone number more than thirty

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

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

19 section are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the

20 purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86

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

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

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

24 competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection

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

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

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

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

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

30 attorneys' fees.

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

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

33 provisions of this section.

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

35 RCW to read as follows:

36 The commercial telephone solicitation list account is created

37 in the custody of the state treasury. All moneys received by the

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_1 department under section 2 of this act or civil penalties

_2 collected by the attorney general in enforcing section 2 of this

_3 act shall be deposited in the commercial telephone solicitation

_4 list account and used solely for the administration of section 2

_5 of this act. Only the director of the department of licensing or

_6 the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the

_7 account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under

_8 chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for

_9 expenditures.

10 Sec. 4. RCW 43.79A.040 and 2000 c 79 s 45 are each amended to read

11 as follows:

12 (1) Money in the treasurer's trust fund may be deposited,

13 invested, and reinvested by the state treasurer in accordance with

14 RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and to the same extent as if the

15 money were in the state treasury.

16 (2) All income received from investment of the treasurer's

17 trust fund shall be set aside in an account in the treasury trust

18 fund to be known as the investment income account.

19 (3) The investment income account may be utilized for the

20 payment of purchased banking services on behalf of treasurer's

21 trust funds including, but not limited to, depository,

22 safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state treasurer or

23 affected state agencies. The investment income account is subject

24 in all respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is

25 required for payments to financial institutions. Payments shall

26 occur prior to distribution of earnings set forth in subsection

27 (4) of this section.

28 (4)(a) Monthly, the state treasurer shall distribute the

29 earnings credited to the investment income account to the state

30 general fund except under (b) and (c) of this subsection.

31 (b) The following accounts and funds shall receive their

32 proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or

33 fund's average daily balance for the period: The Washington

34 advanced college tuition payment program account, the agricultural

35 local fund, the American Indian scholarship endowment fund, the

36 basic health plan self-insurance reserve account, the commercial

37 telephone solicitation list account, the Washington international

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_1 exchange scholarship endowment fund, the developmental

_2 disabilities endowment trust fund, the energy account, the fair

_3 fund, the game farm alternative account, the grain inspection

_4 revolving fund, the juvenile accountability incentive account, the

_5 rural rehabilitation account, the stadium and exhibition center

_6 account, the youth athletic facility ((~~grant~~)) account, the self-

_7 insurance revolving fund, the sulfur dioxide abatement account,

_8 and the children's trust fund. However, the earnings to be

_9 distributed shall first be reduced by the allocation to the state

10 treasurer's service fund pursuant to RCW 43.08.190.

11 (c) The following accounts and funds shall receive eighty

12 percent of their proportionate share of earnings based upon each

13 account's or fund's average daily balance for the period: The

14 advanced right of way revolving fund, the advanced environmental

15 mitigation revolving account, the federal narcotics asset

16 forfeitures account, the high occupancy vehicle account, the local

17 rail service assistance account, and the miscellaneous

18 transportation programs account.

19 (5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state

20 Constitution, no trust accounts or funds shall be allocated

21 earnings without the specific affirmative directive of this

22 section.

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