A07836 Summary:

BILL NO    A07836 

SAME AS    No same as

SPONSOR    Spano (MS)

COSPNSR    Fields, Benedetto, Koon, Burling, Castro, Hooper

MLTSPNSR   Cahill, John, McDonough, Pretlow, Scarborough, Townsend, Weisenberg

Amd S396-z, Gen Bus L

Provides that no vehicle rental company shall utilize a global positioning
system to track an authorized driver in order to impose fines or surcharges
relating to the use of a rented vehicle by such driver.

A07836 Actions:

BILL NO    A07836 

04/24/2009 referred to consumer affairs and protection
01/06/2010 referred to consumer affairs and protection

A07836 Votes:

A07836 Memo:

BILL NUMBER:A7836

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the general business law, in relation to
the use of global positioning systems by car rental companies

PURPOSE  OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:  Prohibits the use of global position-
ing systems by rental vehicle companies for the purpose  of  imposing  a
fine or surcharge on an authorized driver.

SUMMARY  OF  SPECIFIC  PROVISIONS: Section 396-z of the general business
law is amended by adding a new subdivision 14 to state that  "No  rental
vehicle  company  shall  utilize a global positioning system to track an
authorized driver in order to impose fines  or  surcharges  relating  to
such driver's use of the rental vehicle."

JUSTIFICATION:  In  recent years, car rental companies in states such as
Connecticut have been investigated for tracking  customers  by  using  a
"global  positioning system" (GPS) that has been installed in the rental
car. If the customer goes over the speed  limit,  car  rental  companies
have  automatically debited a "fine" from the customer's bank account or
credit card. For instance, in New Haven,  Connecticut,  Acme  Rent-A-Car
had  been  automatically debiting customer bank accounts or credit cards
whenever customers exceeded 79 miles per hour. This company charges $150
for each speeding occurrence that lasts a minimum of  two  minutes.  The
Consumer  Protection  Department in Connecticut charged that the company
"failed to disclose the purpose and intended  use  of  the  GPS  device,
applied surcharges to consumers' bills and failed to notify consumers of
surcharges."  Rental  companies  have the ability to track a car through
several states.

In conjunction with a wireless phone  and  other  technology,  a  global
positioning  system  can be used to track the speed of a car. Rental car
companies who practice this are not agents of law enforcement. This  act
is  in  no way connected to the work of police officers, whose job it is
to track speeding cars. Furthermore, car rental companies  have  in  the
past  and  may  continue  to  use the money generated from the automatic
fines for their own benefit; not giving any of the revenues to the muni-
cipality in which the speeding occurred. Car rental companies, with  the
use  of  a GPS system in the car, are taking the liberty of making money
off of unsuspecting customers and using it for their own benefit.

GPS may also be used by the company to set up "electronic boundaries" to
alert the company if the renter goes where he/she was  not  supposed  to
go. GPS technology also may disable the vehicle, if it is so equipped.

The  best way to prevent this act from occurring in New York State is to
prohibit car rental companies from using global positioning  systems  to
track  speeds  and  fine unknowing customers. This act is an invasion of
privacy, a classic case of "big brother," a  travesty  of  justice,  and
should  not  be tolerated in our state. The citizens of New York need to
be aware of this problem and protected against it.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.7017 of 2008 A3515 of 2003-2004
A.10652 of 2002

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.