S-0003.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5893

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State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senators Haugen, Sellar, Spanel, McCaslin, Prentice, Loveland, Winsley and Oke

Read first time 02/15/1999.  Referred to Committee on Energy, Technology & Telecommunications.

Requiring the disclosure of the physical address of a business advertising in a telephone directory.

    AN ACT Relating to business address disclosure in telephone directories; adding a new section to chapter 80.36 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that some businesses located outside of Washington state advertise in local telephone directories without disclosing the physical location of the business.  The legislature further finds that consumers can make more informed decisions about the products and services they choose to purchase by knowing the physical location of a business.  It is the intent of the legislature to require the disclosure of the physical address of any business advertising in a telephone directory.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 80.36 RCW to read as follows:

    The commission shall ensure that each business advertisement or business listing published in a local telephone directory include the conspicuous disclosure of the primary physical address of the business.  The disclosure of the primary business address includes the address, street, and city or town where the business is physically located.  In the case of a business whose primary physical address is outside of Washington state, the disclosure of the business address shall also include a complete spelling of the state in which the business is located.

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