BILL REQ. #:  S-0758.1 

Read first time 02/05/13.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to locksmith services; and adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Local telephone directory" means a publication listing telephone numbers for various businesses in a certain geographic area and distributed free of charge to some or all telephone subscribers in that area.
     (2) "Local telephone number" means a telephone number that can be dialed without incurring long distance charges from telephones located within the area covered by the local telephone directory in which the number is listed. The term does not include long distance numbers, toll-free numbers, or nine-hundred exchange numbers listed in a local telephone directory.
     (3) "Locksmith services" means:
     (a) Selling, installing, servicing, repairing, repining, recombinating, and adjusting locks, safes, vaults, or safe deposit boxes;
     (b) Originating keys;
     (c) Operating, bypassing, or neutralizing locks, safes, vaults, or safe deposit boxes;
     (d) Creating, documenting, selling, installing, managing, and servicing master-key systems;
     (e) Unlocking, bypassing, or neutralizing locks for motor vehicles;
     (f) Originating keys for motor vehicles, which can include the programming, reprogramming, or bypassing of any security transponder, immobilizer system, or subsequent technology built by the manufacturer; and
     (g) Keying or recombinating motor vehicle locks.
     (4) "Person" means an individual, partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation, or limited liability corporation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   No person engaged in locksmith services may misrepresent his, her, or its geographic location by:
     (1) Listing a local telephone number in a local telephone directory if:
     (a) Calls to the telephone number are routinely forwarded or otherwise transferred to a business location that is outside the calling area covered by the local telephone directory; and
     (b) The listing fails to conspicuously disclose the locality and state in which the business is located; or
     (2) Listing a business name in a local telephone directory if:
     (a) The name misrepresents the business's geographic location; and
     (b) The listing fails to disclose the locality and state in which the business is located.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying 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 chapter 19.86 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Sections 1 through 3 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.