Washington State House Democrats announcement.
On Feb. 27, 2023, the Washington House of Representatives passed House Bill 1051, the Robocall Spam Protection Act, holding bad actors accountable for illegal robocalls. Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, introduced the legislation in partnership with Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
“Everyone has a family member or knows someone who has fallen prey to one of these scams” said Rep. Leavitt. “When the technology to prevent fraudulent robocalls exists, we have an obligation to use it to protect Washingtonians.”
The new law will allow action under the Consumer Protection Act and for civil litigation against those that wrongfully and intentionally allow or conduct illegal robocalls. The substitute bill modifies the definition of “commercial solicitation” and “established business relationship” to provide needed flexibility for businesses and specific industries such as healthcare providers.
“In protecting our community, we also want to make sure healthcare entities, universities, and businesses won’t be negatively impacted or open to liability for reaching out to consumers for legitimate purposes,” added Rep. Leavitt. “I am confident we’ve struck the right balance that protects the interests of all.”
House Bill 1051 passed the House with a unanimous vote of 96 to 0. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
It has been our experience that those robocalls normally use bogus phone #’s.
How do I know that? When I get an unwanted/robo call, I usually try calling the number back, and guess what? The telecommunication company says, “unknown number”.
So, if the Tele-company can figure that out with an incoming requested number, they should damn well be able to intercept outgoing calls that are from an “unknown #”.
In any case….thanx to both of you for this bill !!!
Thank you Mari for leading the charge for this important legislation. And thanks to Attorney General Ferguson for his partnership in taking steps to protect all people from SPAM/SCAM.
We’ll done!
FINALLY tackling the real issues facing the 28th district. Thank you for your service.