Places a cap on the amount that a rental vehicle company may charge a renter for refueling a rental vehicle; imposes a maximum fine for a violation of such cap on charges.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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4036
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. MANNION, BORRELLO, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer
Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to a cap on the
amount which rental vehicle companies may charge for refueling of a
rental vehicle
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 396-z of the general business law
2 is amended by adding a new paragraph (b-1) to read as follows:
3 (b-1) A rental vehicle company that charges for the refueling of a
4 rental vehicle, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, shall
5 only charge the renter for the amount of gas that was necessary to
6 return the fuel tank to the amount of fuel that was in the tank at the
7 beginning of the rental. The renter shall not be charged for such gas at
8 a rate exceeding one hundred twenty-five percent of the regional aver-
9 age market value of gas as published by the United States energy and
10 information administration. Where a rental vehicle company has violated
11 the provisions of this paragraph, the attorney general may commence a
12 special proceeding pursuant to subdivision thirteen of this section, and
13 in any such proceeding the court shall impose a civil penalty in an
14 amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars and, where appropri-
15 ate, order restitution to aggrieved renters.
16 § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 396-z of the general business law is
17 amended by adding a new paragraph (b-1) to read as follows:
18 (b-1) A rental vehicle company that charges for the refueling of a
19 rental vehicle, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, shall
20 only charge the renter for the amount of gas that was necessary to
21 return the fuel tank to the amount of fuel that was in the tank at the
22 beginning of the rental. The renter shall not be charged for such gas at
23 a rate exceeding one hundred twenty-five percent of the regional average
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06790-01-3
S. 4036 2
1 market value of gas as published by the United States energy and infor-
2 mation administration. Where a rental vehicle company has violated the
3 provisions of this paragraph, the attorney general may commence a
4 special proceeding pursuant to subdivision twelve of this section, and
5 in any such proceeding the court shall impose a civil penalty in an
6 amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars and, where appropri-
7 ate, order restitution to aggrieved renters.
8 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amend-
9 ments to subdivision 10 of section 396-z of the general business law
10 made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and
11 reversion of such section pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 4 of
12 chapter 109 of the laws of 2018, as amended, when upon such date the
13 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.