(1) The commissioner shall develop and implement a process for an affected licensee to petition the commissioner for the removal of any disciplinary investigations and orders on the affected licensee's public disciplinary record related solely to an email-based violation of RCW 48.15.103 or 48.17.475 as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2023. An affected licensee who petitions the commissioner shall provide documentation demonstrating that the disciplinary investigations and orders on the affected licensee's record were solely the result of an email-based violation of RCW 48.15.103 or 48.17.475 as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2023. Upon receipt of a petition with appropriate documentation, the commissioner shall immediately:

(a) Remove any related disciplinary investigations and orders from the affected licensee's public disciplinary record;

(b) Send a notice to the national insurance producer registry that the commissioner erroneously took administrative action against the affected licensee and request that the national insurance producer registry expunge any related record of the administrative action from the affected licensee's history; and

(c) Send to the affected licensee, by certified mail, a copy of the commissioner's notice to the national insurance producer registry.

(2) The commissioner shall identify the amount of money collected as fines from each affected licensee solely for email-based violations of RCW 48.15.103 or 48.17.475 as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2023, and, as soon as practicable, refund such money to each affected licensee from the existing operating budget for the commissioner's office.

(3) As used in this section:

(a) "Affected licensee" means any licensee regulated by the commissioner who was penalized by the commissioner solely for an email-based violation of RCW 48.15.103 or 48.17.475 as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2023.

(b) "Email-based violation" means a violation solely of RCW 48.15.103 or 48.17.475, as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2023, resulting from an affected licensee's failure to provide a timely response to an inquiry of the commissioner where such inquiry was only sent to the affected licensee by email. A violation of RCW 48.17.475 or 48.15.103 that is connected to a different violation of any insurance laws or rules is not an email-based violation subject to this section.

Effective date—2023 c 27: See note following RCW 48.17.170.