wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5486 > Substitute Bill
A place of public accommodation that is a motion picture theater shall provide access to fully operational and well–maintained closed captioning technology for the general public for each screening of a motion picture that is produced and available with closed captioning as required by Title III of the federal Americans with disabilities act.
If a motion picture is produced with open captioning content and distributed to motion picture theaters, a place of public accommodation that controls, operates, owns, or leases a motion picture theater with six or more screens in the state, and which has digital projection systems that support open captioning files, shall provide open captioning screenings of each such motion picture that has at least five scheduled screenings within each of the time periods set forth below:
Within each of the first two weeks of such a motion picture's release, the motion picture theater shall provide at least two open captioning screenings, of which at least one must begin between 5:59 p.m. and 11:01 p.m. on Fridays or between 10:59 a.m. and 11:01 p.m. on Saturdays or Sundays.
Within each week after the first two weeks of such a motion picture's release, the motion picture theater shall provide at least one open captioning screening per week, which must begin between 5:59 p.m. and 10:01 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays; between 5:59 p.m. and 11:01 p.m. on Fridays; or between 10:59 a.m. and 11:01 p.m. on Saturdays or Sundays.
A motion picture theater with five or fewer screens must:
Provide an open captioning screening within five calendar days after receiving a request; or
Offer open captioning consistent with the requirements for theaters with six or more screens.
Nothing in this section shall prevent a motion picture theater from offering more open captioning screenings than required by subsections (2) and (3) of this section.
Motion picture theaters shall provide contact information on their websites for the purpose of receiving and fulfilling requests for open captioning screenings.
If an open captioning screening of a motion picture overlaps with one or more other open captioning screenings of the same motion picture at the same motion picture theater, no more than one such motion picture screening may be counted toward the minimum number of screenings required by this section, except where it is not practicable to avoid such overlap.
A motion picture theater shall advertise the date and time of open captioning screenings in the same manner as the motion picture theater advertises all other motion picture screenings and indicate which screenings will include open captioning by using the character symbol "OC."
A motion picture theater shall maintain documents sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this section for a period of at least one year.
A motion picture theater that fails to comply with the requirements of this section is subject to a civil fine of up to $100 for each violation. Written notice of the violation must be provided to the motion picture theater and must state that the fine will be assessed. The notice must also state that the motion picture theater may cure the violation by complying with the requirements within 30 days after delivery of the notice. If the motion picture theater demonstrates compliance within the 30-day period, the fine may not be assessed and the violation must be dismissed. Any subsequent violation results in a civil fine of up to $300.
The commission shall prepare an educational pamphlet advising motion picture theaters of their duties and liabilities under this section. The pamphlet must explain the differences between closed captioning and open captioning and how motion picture theaters should advertise open captioning screenings. The pamphlet must be made available online.
This section does not apply to drive-in theaters.
For purposes of this section:
"Closed captioning" means the written display of a movie's dialogue or transcript and may include nonspeech information such as music, character identities, and other sounds or sound effects by means of a personal captioning device that delivers captions to individual patrons.
"Motion picture theater" means an establishment in which feature motion pictures are regularly exhibited to the public for an admission charge.
"Open captioning" means the written, on-screen display of a motion picture's dialogue and nonspeech information, which may include music, the identity of the character speaking, or other sounds and sound effects.
This act takes effect January 1, 2026.