Revised Code of Washington - RCW Title 80 Public Utilities - Chapter 80.36 Telecommunications

80.36.005 Definitions
The definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 80.36.410 through 80.36.475, unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Community agency" means local community agencies that ...

80.36.010 Eminent domain
The right of eminent domain is hereby extended to all telecommunications companies organized or doing business in this state.[1985 c 450 § 15; 1961 c ...

80.36.020 Right of entry
Every corporation incorporated under the laws of this state or any state or territory of the United States for the purpose of constructing, operating or ...

80.36.030 Extent of appropriation
Such telecommunications company may appropriate so much land as may be actually necessary for its telecommunications line, with the right to enter upon lands immediately ...

80.36.040 Use of road, street, and railroad right-of-way -- When consent of city necessary
Any telecommunications company, or the lessees thereof, doing business in this state, shall have the right to construct and maintain all necessary telecommunications lines for ...

80.36.050 Use of railroad right-of-way -- Penalty for refusal by railroad
Every railroad operated in this state, and carrying freight and passengers for hire, or doing business in this state, is and shall be designated a ...

80.36.060 Liability for wilful injury to telecommunications property
Any person who wilfully and maliciously does any injury to any telecommunications property mentioned in RCW 80.36.070, is liable to the company for five times ...

80.36.070 Liability for negligent injury to property -- Notice of underwater cable
Any person who injures or destroys, through want of proper care, any necessary or useful fixtures of any telecommunications company, is liable to the company ...

80.36.080 Rates, services, and facilities
All rates, tolls, contracts and charges, rules and regulations of telecommunications companies, for messages, conversations, services rendered and equipment and facilities supplied, whether such message, ...

80.36.090 Service to be furnished on demand
Every telecommunications company operating in this state shall provide and maintain suitable and adequate buildings and facilities therein, or connected therewith, for the accommodation, comfort ...

80.36.100 Tariff schedules to be filed and open to public -- Exceptions
(1) Every telecommunications company shall file with the commission and shall print and keep open to public inspection at such points as the commission may ...

80.36.110 Tariff changes -- Statutory notice -- Exception -- Waiver of provisions during state of emergency
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, unless the commission otherwise orders, no change shall be made in any rate, toll, rental, ...

80.36.120 Joint rates, contracts, etc
The names of the several companies which are parties to any joint rates, tolls, contracts or charges of telecommunications companies for messages, conversations and service ...

80.36.130 Published rates to be charged -- Exceptions
(1) Except as provided in RCW 80.04.130 and 80.36.150, no telecommunications company shall charge, demand, collect or receive different compensation for any service rendered or ...

80.36.135 Alternative regulation of telecommunications companies -- Waiver of provisions during state of emergency
(1) The legislature declares that: (a) Changes in technology and the structure of the telecommunications industry may produce conditions under which traditional rate of return, ...

80.36.140 Rates and services fixed by commission, when
Whenever the commission shall find, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, that the rates, charges, tolls or rentals demanded, exacted, ...

80.36.145 Formal investigation and fact-finding -- Alternative to full adjudicative proceeding -- Waiver of provisions during state of emergency
(1) The legislature declares that the availability of an alternative abbreviated formal procedure for use by the commission instead of a full adjudicative proceeding may ...

80.36.150 Contracts filed with commission
(1) Every telecommunications company shall file with the commission, as and when required by it, a copy of any contract, agreement or arrangement in writing ...

80.36.160 Physical connections may be ordered, routing prescribed, and joint rates established
In order to provide toll telephone service where no such service is available, or to promote the most expeditious handling or most direct routing of ...

80.36.170 Unreasonable preference prohibited
No telecommunications company shall make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any person, corporation or locality, or subject any particular person, ...

80.36.180 Rate discrimination prohibited
No telecommunications company shall, directly or indirectly, or by any special rate, rebate, drawback or other device or method, unduly or unreasonably charge, demand, collect ...

80.36.183 Discounted message toll rates prohibited -- Availability of statewide, averaged toll rates
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no telecommunications company shall offer a discounted message toll service based on volume that prohibits aggregation of volumes ...

80.36.186 Pricing of or access to noncompetitive services -- Unreasonable preference or advantage prohibited
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no telecommunications company providing noncompetitive services shall, as to the pricing of or access to noncompetitive services, make ...

80.36.190 Long and short distance provision
No telecommunications company subject to the provisions of this title shall charge or receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the transmission of any ...

80.36.195 Telecommunications relay system -- Long distance discount rates
Each telecommunications company providing intrastate interexchange voice transmission service shall offer discounts from otherwise applicable long distance rates for service used in conjunction with the ...

80.36.200 Transmission of messages of other lines
Every telecommunications company operating in this state shall receive, transmit and deliver, without discrimination or delay, the messages of any other telecommunications company.[1985 c 450 ...

80.36.210 Order of sending messages
It shall be the duty of any telegraph company, doing business in this state, to transmit all dispatches in the order in which they are ...

80.36.220 Duty to transmit messages -- Penalty for refusal or neglect
Telecommunications companies shall receive, exchange and transmit each other's messages without delay or discrimination, and all telecommunications companies shall receive and transmit messages for any ...

80.36.225 Pay telephones -- Calls to operator without charge or coin insertion to be provided
All telecommunications companies and customer-owned, pay telephone providers doing business in this state and utilizing pay telephones shall provide a system whereby calls may be ...

80.36.230 Exchange areas for telecommunications companies
The commission is hereby granted the power to prescribe exchange area boundaries and/or territorial boundaries for telecommunications companies.[1985 c 450 § 37; 1961 c 14 ...

80.36.240 Exchange areas for telephone companies -- Procedure to establish
The commission in conducting hearings, promulgating rules, and otherwise proceeding to make effective the provisions of RCW 80.36.230 and 80.36.240, shall be governed by, and ...

80.36.250 Commission may complain of interstate rates
The commission may investigate all interstate rates and charges, classifications, or rules or practices relating thereto, for or in relation to the transmission of messages ...

80.36.260 Betterments may be ordered
Whenever the commission shall find, after a hearing had on its own motion or upon complaint, that repairs or improvements to, or changes in, any ...

80.36.270 Effect on existing contracts
Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent any telecommunications company from continuing to furnish the use of its line, equipment or service under ...

80.36.300 Policy declaration
The legislature declares it is the policy of the state to: (1) Preserve affordable universal telecommunications service; (2) Maintain and advance the efficiency and availability ...

80.36.310 Classification as competitive telecommunications companies, services -- Initiation of proceedings -- Notice and publication -- Effective date -- Date for final order
(1) Telecommunications companies may petition to be classified as competitive telecommunications companies under RCW 80.36.320 or to have services classified as competitive telecommunications services under ...

80.36.320 Classification as competitive telecommunications companies, services -- Factors considered -- Minimal regulation -- Reclassification -- Waiver of provisions during state of emergency
(1) The commission shall classify a telecommunications company as a competitive telecommunications company if the services it offers are subject to effective competition. Effective competition ...

80.36.330 Classification as competitive telecommunications companies, services -- Effective competition defined -- Minimal regulation -- Prices and rates -- Reclassification -- Waiver of provisions during state of emergency
(1) The commission may classify a telecommunications service provided by a telecommunications company as a competitive telecommunications service if the service is subject to effective ...

80.36.332 Noncompetitive telecommunications companies, services -- Minimal regulation
(1) A noncompetitive telecommunications company may petition to have packages or bundles of telecommunications services it offers be subject to minimal regulation. The commission shall ...

80.36.333 Price lists in effect before June 7, 2006 -- Extension
(1) Until June 30, 2007, a telecommunications company may continue to maintain on file with the commission any price list that, pursuant to RCW 80.36.100, ...

80.36.338 Withdrawal of price list -- Customer information, opportunity to accept changes in rates, terms, or conditions -- Cancellation period
Each company withdrawing a filed price list shall provide each customer receiving service under the price list with information about the rates, terms, and conditions ...

80.36.340 Banded rates
The commission may approve a tariff which includes banded rates for any telecommunications service if such tariff is in the public interest. "Banded rate" means ...

80.36.350 Registration of new companies -- Waiver of provisions during state of emergency
Each telecommunications company not operating under tariff in Washington on January 1, 1985, shall register with the commission before beginning operations in this state. The ...

80.36.360 Exempted actions or transactions
For the purposes of RCW 19.86.170, actions or transactions of competitive telecommunications companies, or associated with competitive telecommunications services, shall not be deemed otherwise permitted, ...

80.36.370 Certain services not regulated
The commission shall not regulate the following: (1) One way broadcast or cable television transmission of television or radio signals; (2) Private telecommunications systems; (3) ...

80.36.375 Personal wireless services -- Siting microcells and/or minor facilities -- Definitions
(1) If a personal wireless service provider applies to site several microcells and/or minor facilities in a single geographical area: (a) If one or more ...

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 ...

80.36.400 Automatic dialing and announcing device -- Commercial solicitation by
(1) As used in this section: (a) An automatic dialing and announcing device is a device which automatically dials telephone numbers and plays a recorded ...

80.36.410 Washington telephone assistance program -- Findings
(1) The legislature finds that universal telephone service is an important policy goal of the state. The legislature further finds that: (a) Recent changes in ...

80.36.420 Washington telephone assistance program -- Availability, components
The Washington telephone assistance program shall be available to participants of programs set forth in RCW 80.36.470. Assistance shall consist of the following components: (1) ...

80.36.430 Washington telephone assistance program -- Excise tax -- Expenses of community service voice mail
(1) The Washington telephone assistance program shall be funded by a telephone assistance excise tax on all switched access lines and by funds from any ...

80.36.440 Washington telephone assistance program -- Rules
(1) The commission and the department may adopt any rules necessary to implement RCW 80.36.410 through 80.36.470. (2) Rules necessary for the implementation of community ...

80.36.450 Washington telephone assistance program -- Limitation
The Washington telephone assistance program shall limit reimbursement to one residential switched access line per eligible household, or one discounted community service voice mailbox per ...

80.36.460 Washington telephone assistance program -- Deposit waivers, connection fee discounts
Local exchange companies shall waive deposits on local exchange service for eligible subscribers and provide a fifty percent discount on the company's customary charge for ...

80.36.470 Washington telephone assistance program -- Eligibility
(1) Adult recipients of department-administered programs for the financially needy which provide continuing financial or medical assistance, food stamps, or supportive services to persons in ...

80.36.475 Washington telephone assistance program -- Report to legislature
The department shall report to the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1 of each year on the status ...

80.36.500 Information delivery services through exclusive number prefix or service access code
(1) As used in this section: (a) "Information delivery services" means telephone recorded messages, interactive programs, or other information services that are provided for a ...

80.36.510 Legislative finding
The legislature finds that a growing number of companies provide, in a nonresidential setting, telecommunications services necessary to long distance service without disclosing the services ...

80.36.520 Disclosure of alternate operator services
The utilities and transportation commission shall by rule require, at a minimum, that any telecommunications company, operating as or contracting with an alternate operator services ...

80.36.522 Alternate operator service companies -- Registration -- Penalties
All alternate operator service companies providing services within the state shall register with the commission as a telecommunications company before providing alternate operator services. The ...

80.36.524 Alternate operator service companies -- Rules
The commission may adopt rules that provide for minimum service levels for telecommunications companies providing alternate operator services. The rules may provide a means for ...

80.36.530 Violation of consumer protection act -- Damages
In addition to the penalties provided in this title, a violation of RCW 80.36.510, 80.36.520, or 80.36.524 constitutes an unfair or deceptive act in trade ...

80.36.540 Telefacsimile messages -- Unsolicited transmission -- Penalties
(1) As used in this section, "telefacsimile message" means the transmittal of electronic signals over telephone lines for conversion into written text. (2) No person, ...

80.36.555 Enhanced 911 service -- Residential service required
By January 1, 1997, or one year after enhanced 911 service becomes available or a private switch automatic location identification service approved by the Washington ...

80.36.560 Enhanced 911 service -- Business service required
By January 1, 1997, or one year after enhanced 911 service becomes available or a private switch automatic location identification service approved by the Washington ...

80.36.600 Universal service program -- Planning and preparation -- Commission's duties -- Approval of legislature required -- Definitions
(1) The commission shall plan and prepare to implement a program for the preservation and advancement of universal telecommunications service which shall not take effect ...

80.36.610 Universal service program -- Authority of commission -- Rules -- Fees -- Legislative intent
(1) The commission is authorized to take actions, conduct proceedings, and enter orders as permitted or contemplated for a state commission under the federal telecommunications ...

80.36.620 Universal service program -- Rules
Any rules regarding universal service adopted by the utilities and transportation commission shall comply with the purpose, as stated in RCW 80.36.600, for establishing a ...

80.36.850 Extended area service defined
As used in RCW 80.36.855, "extended area service" means the ability to call from one exchange to another exchange without incurring a toll charge.[1989 c ...

80.36.855 Extended area service program
Any business, resident, or community may petition for and shall receive extended area service within the service territory of the local exchange company that provides ...

80.36.900 Severability -- 1985 c 450
If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application ...

80.36.901 Legislative review of 1985 c 450 -- 1989 c 101
The legislature shall conduct an intensive review of chapter 450, Laws of 1985 during the 1991-1993 biennium to determine whether the purposes of chapter 450, ...