OLYMPIA — Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1051, the Robocall Spam Protection Act, into law Thursday. The new law will hold accountable those who spam individuals with robocalls maliciously.
"Every time I think about this bill, I think of the countless families in my district and across the state that were threatened and scammed by these robocalls all while the technology to prevent it existed," said Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, prime sponsor of the bill. "Washington has an obligation to protect those most vulnerable to these scams."
A release by Washington House Democrats states the single highest number of complaints the Attorney General receives regards scams affecting seniors, young and the financially vulnerable. While Washington already has a law regarding robocalls, 1.1 million Washingtonians lost money to robocalls in 2022 alone based on independent survey data.
The new law will provide law enforcement and prosecutors in the state with the tools needed to deal with the daily onslaught of calls and protect consumers, according to the release. With the passage of this policy, consumers will be protected from bad actors and state law will give incentives to phone service providers to use available technology to reduce robocalls, block them entirely, and provide consumers with the ability to mitigate attempted scams.
"When we bring business, industry, AG Ferguson, the legislature, and the Governor together, we get a great piece of law like HB 1051," Leavitt said.
The bill will take effect 90 days after adjournment of session.
