WASHINGTON STATUTES AND CODES

19.162.030 - Program message preamble.

Program message preamble.

(1) An information provider that does business in Washington must include a preamble in all program messages for:

     (a) Programs costing more than five dollars per minute; or

     (b) Programs having a total potential cost of greater than ten dollars.

     (2) The preamble must:

     (a) Accurately describe the service that will be provided by the program;

     (b) Advise the caller of the price of the call, including:

     (i) Any per minute charge;

     (ii) Any flat rate charge; and

     (iii) Any minimum charge;

     (c) State that billing will begin shortly after the end of the introductory message; and

     (d) Be clearly articulated, at a volume equal to that of the program message, in plain English or the language used to promote the information delivery service, and spoken in a normal cadence.

     (3) Mechanisms that provide for the option of bypassing the preamble are only permitted when:

     (a) The caller has made use of the information provider's service in the past, at which time the preamble required by this section was part of the program message; and

     (b) The cost of the call has not changed during the thirty-day period before the call.

     (4) When an information provider's program message consists of a polling application that permits the caller to register an opinion or vote on a matter by completing a call, this section does not apply.