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Senate committee hears compromise to narrow Washington's commercial email law, cutting statutory damages
Summary
The Senate Business Committee heard public testimony on SHB 2274, an engrossed substitute that narrows liability under the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) by requiring subject lines be knowingly false and reducing statutory damages from $500 to $100, while consumer advocates urged further work on text‑message provisions.
Olympia, Feb. 19 — The Washington State Senate Committee on Business, Trade and Economic Development heard public testimony Thursday on engrossed substitute House Bill 2,274, a compromise measure that amends the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA).
Representative Larry Springer, sponsor of the companion bill in the House, told the committee the engrossed substitute narrows liability so that a commercial email subject line is actionable only if it is false based on the sender's actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied by objective circumstances. Springer said the bill lowers the automatic statutory damages in CEMA from $500 to $100 or actual damages if greater, a change intended to protect small retailers while leaving…
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