Senate Bill Report — ESHB 2274, Commercial Electronic Mail Act, with Staff Summary of Public Testimony

Summary

This Senate Bill Report on ESHB 2274 is dated as of February 19, 2026 and lists committee activity before the Business, Trade & Economic Development committee on 2/19/26. The bill, which modifies the Washington commercial electronic mail act, passed the House on 2/16/26, 86-11. Under the brief summary, a sender of a commercial email must have knowledge that the subject line is considered false or misleading for a violation of the Commercial Electronic Mail Act, and statutory damages for a recipient fall to the greater of $100 or actual damages. The background says the act was enacted in 1998 and regulates commercial email.

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“Senate Bill Report — ESHB 2274, Commercial Electronic Mail Act, with Staff Summary of Public Testimony.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2026-02-25-a34019-d297853-2274-s-e-sbr-bte-ta-26-07caa914f2/, SHA-256 2357dd355ca8ba48356117388ca3c9044095fb6ce4debabf24d5fec202e48767.

Full text

SENATE BILL REPORT
ESHB 2274

As of February 19, 2026

Title: An act relating to modifying the Washington commercial electronic mail act.

Brief Description: Modifying the Washington commercial electronic mail act.

Sponsors: House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business (originally sponsored by
Representatives Springer, McClintock and Bernbaum).

Brief History: Passed House: 2/16/26, 86-11.
Committee Activity: Business, Trade & Economic Development: 2/19/26.

Brief Summary of Bill
• Requires the sender of a commercial email to have knowledge that the
subject line is considered false or misleading to be a violation of the
Commercial Electronic Mail Act.
• Decreases the statutory damages for a recipient of a prohibited
commercial email or text message to the greater of $100 or actual
damages.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, TRADE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Staff: William Bridges (786-7312)

Background: Commercial Electronic Mail Act. Enacted in 1998, the Commercial
Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) regulates commercial email. A commercial email is one that is
sent for the purpose of promoting real property, goods, or services for sale or lease. It is
illegal under CEMA for a person to send, conspire with another to send, or assist in the
transmission of a commercial email from a computer in Washington or to an email address
that the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a Washington resident that:
• uses a third party's internet domain name without permission;

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative
members in their deliberations. This analysis is not part of the legislation nor does it
constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Senate Bill Report -1- ESHB 2274
• misrepresents or obscures the point of origin or transmission path; or
• contains a false or misleading subject line.

Businesses are also prohibited from sending a commercial text message to a cell phone or
pager unless the text message was sent to a subscriber who has clearly and affirmatively
consented in advance to receive text messages or the text message is sent by a cellular or
pager service to an existing subscriber at no cost to the subscriber.

Enforcement. A recipient of a prohibited commercial email or commercial text message
may seek statutory damages of $500, or actual damages, whichever is greater. The recipient
may bring an action under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

Consumer Protection Act. The CPA allows a person injured by an unfair or deceptive
practice to bring a private cause of action for actual damages, injunctive relief, reasonable
attorney's fees, and treble damages. The Office of the Attorney General may investigate and
prosecute claims under the CPA on behalf of the state or individuals in the state.

Summary of Bill: Narrowing the Application of the Commercial Electronic Mail Act. In
order for a commercial email subject line to be considered false or misleading under
CEMA, the subject line must, based on the person's actual knowledge or knowledge fairly
implied on the basis of objective circumstances, contain false or misleading information.

Decreasing Statutory Damages. Statutory damages to a recipient of a prohibited commercial
email or commercial text message are decreased to $100, or actual damages, whichever is
greater. Lawsuits filed on or after the effective date are subject to the provisions, regardless
of when the conduct occurred.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The bill arose out of a recent court case
regarding CEMA, a law enacted in 1998 when people were using dial-up modems and
being charged to access their electronic mail accounts. From the enactment of the law
through June 2025, there were only eight CEMA lawsuits against retailers. Since June there
have been over 100 CEMA lawsuits. This is because the Washington Supreme Court ruled
in June that the falsity of a commercial email was determined by the subject line, not the
body of the email. This was not the legislative intent. The bill is the result of extensive
negotiations between trial lawyers and retailers to reach a temporary compromise with an
agreement to continue working over the interim to develop a permanent solution. The

Senate Bill Report -2- ESHB 2274
Attorney General is neutral on the bill. The compromise is designed to lessen the impact on
small retailers.

Communities are stronger when retailers operate under clear and predictable rules. This
compromise bill does not dismantle CEMA or weaken consumer protections. The bill keeps
intact the ability to sue under the Consumer Protection Act. The bill addresses
proportionality and modernization, and courts maintain the authority to address deceptive
conduct. A 1998 statute should not dictate 2026 digital commerce without thoughtful
review. Current court decision has resulted in many lawsuits, relying on statutory damages
untethered from allegations of actual harm. The bill is a measured reset, narrower than the
original Senate companion bill.

Stakeholders have engaged in productive discussions to develop the current bill as a
temporary step for a more comprehensive solution. Consumer advocates continue to believe
the recent court interpretation of CEMA is critical to protect consumers but recognize a
solution is needed to protect small retailers from inadvertently violating CEMA. Focusing
on knowingly false subject lines addresses the actions on the bad actors using mass emails
they know or should know are false or misleading. There is an expectation that additional
work will occur over the interim to further refine the damages under CEMA.

OTHER: The bill is being considered under a false sense of urgency. The bill reduces the
statutory damages for commercial text messages, which will lead to an increase in bulk
commercial text messages because the damages currently deter such actions by businesses.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Larry Springer, Prime Sponsor; Beth Terrell,
Board Chair, NW Consumer Law Center; Crystal Leatherman, Washington Retail
Association.

OTHER: Joe Wright, HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.

Senate Bill Report -3- ESHB 2274

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