S‑0572.4   _____________________________________________

SENATE BILL 5339

           _____________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senators Finkbeiner, Horn, Hale, McCaslin, Morton, Winsley, Johnson, Stevens, McDonald, Hewitt, Carlson, Long, Swecker and Kline

Read first time 01/19/2001.  Referred to Committee on Economic Development & Telecommunications.

_1      AN ACT Relating to telephone solicitation by use of automatic

_2  dialing devices; amending RCW 19.158.110 and 80.36.400; and

_3  prescribing penalties.

_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 RCW 80.36.400.

15  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      Sec. 2.  RCW 80.36.400 and 1986 c 281 s 2 are each amended to read

31  as follows:

32      (1) As used in this section:

33      (a) An automatic dialing and announcing device is a device

34  which automatically dials telephone numbers and plays a recorded

35  message once a connection is made.

36      (b) ((Commercial)) Telephone solicitation means the unsolicited

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_1  initiation of a telephone conversation for the purpose of

_2  encouraging a person to purchase property, goods, or services or

_3  soliciting donations of money, property, goods, or services.

_4      (2) No person may use an automatic dialing and announcing

_5  device for purposes of ((commercial)) telephone solicitation.  This

_6  section applies to all ((commercial)) telephone solicitation

_7  intended to be received by telephone customers within the state.

_8      (3) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this

_9  section are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the

10  purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86

11  RCW.  A violation of this section is ((a violation of)) not

12  reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of

13  business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce

14  and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying

15  the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.  ((It shall be

16  presumed that damages to the recipient of commercial solicitations

17  made using an automatic dialing and announcing device are five

18  hundred dollars.)) In addition to any other penalties or remedies

19  available under this chapter or chapter 19.86 RCW, a person

20  injured by a violation of this section may bring an action for

21  recovery of liquidated damages in the amount of one thousand

22  dollars per violation, plus court costs and attorneys' fees.

23      (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the

24  Washington utilities and transportation commission from adopting

25  additional rules regulating automatic dialing and announcing

26  devices.

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