Rev. Code Wash. (ARCW) § 80.36.390
§ 80.36.390. Telephone solicitation
(1)
As used in this section, "telephone solicitation" means the unsolicited initiation of a telephone
call by a commercial or nonprofit company or organization to a residential telephone customer and conversation
for the purpose of encouraging a person to purchase property, goods, or services or soliciting donations of
money, property, goods, or services. "Telephone solicitation" does not include:
(a)
Calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called party. This includes calls regarding an
item that has been purchased by the called party from the company or organization during a period not longer
than twelve months prior to the telephone contact;
(b)
Calls made by a not-for-profit organization to its own list of bona fide or active members of the
organization;
(c)
Calls limited to polling or soliciting the expression of ideas, opinions, or votes; or
(d)
Business-to-business contacts.
For purposes of this section, each individual real estate agent or insurance agent who maintains a separate
list from other individual real estate or insurance agents shall be treated as a company or organization. For
purposes of this section, an organization as defined in RCW 29.01.090 or 29.01.100 and organized pursuant to
RCW 29.42.010 shall not be considered a commercial or nonprofit company or organization.
(2)
A person making a telephone solicitation must identify him or herself and the company or organization
on whose behalf the solicitation is being made and the purpose of the call within the first thirty seconds of
the telephone call.
(3)
If, at any time during the telephone contact, the called party states or indicates that he or she does
not wish to be called again by the company or organization or wants to have his or her name and individual
telephone number removed from the telephone lists used by the company or organization making the telephone
solicitation, then:
(a)
The company or organization shall not make any additional telephone solicitation of the called party
at that telephone number within a period of at least one year; and
(b)
The company or organization shall not sell or give the called party's name and telephone number to
another company or organization: PROVIDED, That the company or organization may return the list, including the
called party's name and telephone number, to the company or organization from which it received the list.
(4)
A violation of subsection (2) or (3) of this section is punishable by a fine of up to one thousand
dollars for each violation.
(5)
The attorney general may bring actions to enforce compliance with this section. For the first violation
by any company or organization of this section, the attorney general shall notify the company with a letter of
warning that the section has been violated.
(6)
A person aggrieved by repeated violations of this section may bring a civil action in superior court to
enjoin future violations, to recover damages, or both. The court shall award damages of at least one hundred
dollars for each individual violation of this section. If the aggrieved person prevails in a civil action
under this subsection, the court shall award the aggrieved person reasonable attorneys' fees and cost of the
suit.
(7)
The utilities and transportation commission shall by rule ensure that telecommunications companies
inform their residential customers of the provisions of this section. The notification may be made by (a)
annual inserts in the billing statements mailed to residential customers, or (b) conspicuous publication of
the notice in the consumer information pages of local telephone directories.
