Add 396-mmm, Gen Bus L; amd 112, Cor L; add 165-b, St Fin L
Establishes requirements for certain contracts involving DOCCS and third-party care package vendors; prohibits vendors from charging more for a product than the price of the same or similar item in the commissary plus actual shipping costs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4910
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 24, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, the correction law and the
state finance law, in relation to establishing pricing restrictions
for certain contracts involving care package vendors
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 396-mmm to read as follows:
3 § 396-mmm. Pricing restrictions; care package vendors. 1. For the
4 purposes of this section:
5 (a) "Care package vendor" shall mean a mail-order business or tele-
6 phone order business as such terms are defined in section three hundred
7 ninety-six-m of this chapter that is primarily engaged in the solicita-
8 tion of orders by advertisement or otherwise for merchandise to be
9 shipped to an incarcerated individual housed in a correctional facility
10 pursuant to a contract with the department of corrections and community
11 supervision or a state or local correctional facility.
12 (b) "Accepts orders" shall mean, in the case of a mail order, receipt
13 of an order with payment or with charge account authorization remitted
14 through the mail, electronic mail or the Internet, and, in the case of a
15 telephone order, receipt of an order with charge account authorization
16 and debiting the buyer's account.
17 2. No person, partnership, firm, association or corporation or agent
18 or employee thereof who conducts a care package vendor business shall
19 sell or offer to sell any merchandise, or accept any order for merchan-
20 dise, for an amount which exceeds the price of the same or substantially
21 similar merchandise sold in the commissary or canteen of the correction-
22 al facility in which the incarcerated individual to whom such merchan-
23 dise is to be shipped is housed, plus the actual cost of shipping such
24 merchandise to such incarcerated individual.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08631-01-3
A. 4910 2
1 3. It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, firm, association
2 or corporation or agent or employee thereof who conducts a care package
3 vendor business to demand or accept any payment, fee, or charge from an
4 incarcerated individual or other purchaser for any amount other than the
5 price authorized pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
6 4. Any contract or agreement purporting to waive or modify the pricing
7 restrictions set forth in this section shall be void as contrary to
8 public policy.
9 § 2. Section 112 of the correction law is amended by adding a new
10 subdivision 6 to read as follows:
11 6. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring
12 that every procurement contract with a care package vendor as defined in
13 section three hundred ninety-six-mmm of the general business law shall
14 contain a provision prohibiting such care package vendor from charging
15 any price for its merchandise in excess of the amounts authorized by
16 subdivision two of section three hundred ninety-six-mmm of the general
17 business law. The commissioner shall monitor and enforce compliance with
18 this subdivision.
19 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 165-b to
20 read as follows:
21 § 165-b. Purchasing restrictions; correctional facilities. The depart-
22 ment of corrections and community supervision and any state or local
23 correctional facility, as defined in section two of the correction law,
24 shall not enter into a contract with a care package vendor, as defined
25 in section three hundred ninety-six-mmm of the general business law,
26 unless such contract requires compliance with the pricing restrictions
27 set forth in subdivisions two and three of section three hundred nine-
28 ty-six-mmm of the general business law in accordance with the provisions
29 of subdivision six of section one hundred twelve of the correction law.
30 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to
31 contracts entered into on and after such date.
