Title 80 — Title 80 PUBLIC UTILITIES
23 chapters · 368 sections in this title.
RCW 80.36.005 Definitions.
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The definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 80.36.410 through * 80.36.475, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Community action agency" means local community action agencies or local community service agencies designated by the department of commerce under…
RCW 80.36.010 Eminent domain.
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The right of eminent domain is hereby extended to all telecommunications companies organized or doing business in this state.[ 1985 c 450 s 15; 1961 c 14 s 80.36.010. Prior: 1890 p 292 s 1; RRS s 11338.]
RCW 80.36.020 Right of entry.
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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 maintaining any telecommunications line in this state shall have the right to enter upon any land between the termini of its pr…
RCW 80.36.030 Extent of appropriation.
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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 adjacent thereto, for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating its line and making all necessary…
RCW 80.36.040 Use of road, street, and railroad right-of-way—When consent of city necessary.
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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 public traffic along and upon any public road, street or highway, along or across the right-of-way of an…
RCW 80.36.050 Use of railroad right-of-way—Penalty for refusal by railroad.
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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 "post road," and the corporation or company owning the same shall allow telecommunications companies to construct and maintain teleco…
RCW 80.36.060 Liability for wilful injury to telecommunications property.
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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 the amount of actual damages sustained thereby, to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.[ 1985 c 450 s 20;…
RCW 80.36.070 Liability for negligent injury to property—Notice of underwater cable.
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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 for all damages sustained thereby. Any vessel which, by dragging its anchor or otherwise, breaks, injures or destroys the …
RCW 80.36.080 Rates, services, and facilities.
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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, conversation or service to be performed be over one company or line or over …
RCW 80.36.090 Service to be furnished on demand.
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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 and convenience of its patrons and employees.Every telecommunications company shall, …
RCW 80.36.100 Tariff schedules to be filed and open to public—Exceptions.
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(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 designate, schedules showing the rates, tolls, rentals, and charges of such companies for messages, conversations and servic…
RCW 80.36.110 Tariff changes—Statutory notice—Exception—Waiver of provisions during state of emergency.
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(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, or charge, that was filed and published by any telecommunications company in compliance with the requirements of RCW 80.36.100, exc…
RCW 80.36.120 Joint rates, contracts, etc.
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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 to be rendered shall be specified therein, and each of the parties thereto, other than the one filing the s…
RCW 80.36.130 Published rates to be charged—Exceptions.
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(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 to be rendered than the charge applicable to such service as specified in its schedule on file and in e…
RCW 80.36.135 Alternative regulation of telecommunications companies—Waiver of provisions during state of emergency.
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(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, rate base regulation of telecommunications companies may not in all cases provide the most efficient and…
RCW 80.36.140 Rates and services fixed by commission, when.
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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, charged or collected by any telecommunications company for the transmission of messages by telecommunications, or for the re…
RCW 80.36.145 Formal investigation and fact-finding—Alternative to full adjudicative proceeding—Waiver of provisions during state of emergency.
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(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 in appropriate circumstances advance the public interest by reducing the time required by the commission for d…
RCW 80.36.150 Contracts filed with commission.
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(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 with any other telecommunications company, or with any other corporation, association or person relating in any way to the …
RCW 80.36.160 Physical connections may be ordered, routing prescribed, and joint rates established.
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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 toll messages and conversations, or to prevent arbitrary or unreasonable practices which may result in the failure to utilize the t…
RCW 80.36.170 Unreasonable preference prohibited.
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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, corporation or locality to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever. T…
RCW 80.36.180 Rate discrimination prohibited.
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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 or receive from any person or corporation a greater or less compensation for any service rendered or to …
RCW 80.36.183 Discounted message toll rates prohibited—Availability of statewide, averaged toll rates.
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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 across all territory with respect to which that company functions as an interexchange carrier. Th…
RCW 80.36.186 Pricing of or access to noncompetitive services—Unreasonable preference or advantage prohibited.
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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 or grant any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to itself or to any other person …
RCW 80.36.190 Long and short distance provision.
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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 long distance conversation or message of like kind for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line, in t…
RCW 80.36.195 Telecommunications relay system—Long distance discount rates.
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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 statewide relay service authorized under RCW 43.20A.725. Such long distance d…
RCW 80.36.200 Transmission of messages of other lines.
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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 s 34; 1961 c 14 s 80.36.200. Prior: 1911 c 117 s 45; RRS s 10381.]
RCW 80.36.210 Order of sending messages.
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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 received, under the penalty of one hundred dollars, to be recovered with costs of suit, by the person or persons whose dispatch is postponed out …
RCW 80.36.220 Duty to transmit messages—Penalty for refusal or neglect.
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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 person.In case of the refusal or neglect of any telecommunications company to …
RCW 80.36.225 Pay telephones—Calls to operator without charge or coin insertion to be provided.
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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 made to the operator without charge and without requiring the use of credit cards or other payment de…
RCW 80.36.230 Exchange areas for telecommunications companies.
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The commission is hereby granted the power to prescribe exchange area boundaries and/or territorial boundaries for telecommunications companies.[ 1985 c 450 s 37; 1961 c 14 s 80.36.230. Prior: 1941 c 137 s 1; Rem. Supp. 1941 s 11358-1.]
RCW 80.36.240 Exchange areas for telephone companies—Procedure to establish.
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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 shall have the powers provided in this title, as amended; all provisions as to review of the commission's…
RCW 80.36.250 Commission may complain of interstate rates.
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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 or conversations. Where any acts in relation thereto take place within this state which, in the opinion of …
RCW 80.36.260 Betterments may be ordered.
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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 telecommunications line ought reasonably be made, or that any additions or extensions should reasonably be made thereto in order to pro…
RCW 80.36.270 Effect on existing contracts.
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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 any contract or contracts in force on June 7, 1911 or upon the taking effect of any schedule or schedules of rates subsequ…
RCW 80.36.300 Policy declaration.
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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 of telecommunications service;(3) Ensure that customers pay only reasonable charges for telecommunicatio…
RCW 80.36.310 Classification as competitive telecommunications companies, services—Initiation of proceedings—Notice and publication—Effective date—Date for final order.
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(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 RCW 80.36.330. The commission may initiate classification proceedings on …
RCW 80.36.320 Classification as competitive telecommunications companies, services—Factors considered—Minimal regulation—Reclassification—Waiver of provisions during state of emergency.
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(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 means that the company's customers have reasonably available alternatives and that the …
RCW 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.
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(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 competition. Effective competition means that customers of the service have reasonably availabl…
RCW 80.36.332 Noncompetitive telecommunications companies, services—Minimal regulation.
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(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 grant the petition where:(a) Each noncompetitive service in the packages or bundle is readily a…
RCW 80.36.333 Price lists in effect before June 7, 2006—Extension.
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(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, 80.36.320, and 80.36.330, was on file and in effect before June 7, 2006. The price list is subject to the statutes and rules …
RCW 80.36.338 Withdrawal of price list—Customer information, opportunity to accept changes in rates, terms, or conditions—Cancellation period.
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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 under which the service will continue to be provided. If the rates, terms, and conditions do not change upon with…
RCW 80.36.340 Banded rates.
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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 a rate which has a minimum and a maximum rate. The minimum rate in the rate band shall cover the cost of the service. R…
RCW 80.36.350 Registration of new companies—Waiver of provisions during state of emergency.
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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 registration shall be on a form prescribed by the commission and shall contain such information as the co…
RCW 80.36.360 Exempted actions or transactions.
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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, prohibited, or regulated by the commission.[ 1985 c 450 s 8.]
RCW 80.36.370 Certain services not regulated.
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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) Telegraph services;(4) Any sale, lease, or use of customer premises equipment except such equipment as …
RCW 80.36.375 Personal wireless services—Siting microcells, minor facilities, or a small cell network—Definitions.
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(1) If a personal wireless service provider applies to site several microcells, minor facilities, or a small cell network in a single geographical area:(a) If one or more of the microcells and/or minor facilities are not exempt from the requirements of RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c), local…
RCW 80.36.390 Telephone solicitation—Penalty.
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(1)(a) 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 person for the purpose of encouraging the person to purchase property, goods, or services, wrongfully obtaining …
RCW 80.36.400 Automatic dialing and announcing device—Commercial solicitation by.
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(1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(a)(i) "Assist in the transmission" means actions taken to provide substantial assistance or support, which enables any person to formulate, originate, initiate, or …
RCW 80.36.410 Washington telephone assistance program—Findings.
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(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 the telecommunications industry, such as federal access charges, raise concerns about the ability of low-income persons t…
RCW 80.36.420 Washington telephone assistance program—Availability, components.
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The Washington telephone assistance program may be available to participants of programs set forth in RCW 80.36.470. Within funds specifically appropriated by the legislature for the Washington telephone assistance program, assistance may consist of the following components:(1) A…