Provides that if a seller engages in differential pricing by offering a discount for payment by cash, check, or similar means, the highest price shall be conspicuously posted; defines terms; increases the penalty from five hundred dollars to one thousand dollars.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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5520
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- 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 requiring sell-
ers to conspicuously post any credit card surcharges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 518 of the general business law, as added by chap-
2 ter 160 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 518. Credit card surcharge prohibited. 1. No seller in any sales
4 transaction may impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to use a cred-
5 it card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means. The regular
6 price of any product shall be conspicuously posted.
7 2. For the purposes of this section the following terms shall
8 have the following meanings:
9 (a) "Discount" shall mean a reduction made from the regular price.
10 (b) "Surcharge" shall mean any means of increasing the regular price
11 to a cardholder which is not imposed upon customers paying by cash,
12 check, or similar means.
13 (c) "Regular price" shall mean the tag or posted price charged for the
14 property or service if a single price is tagged or posted, or the price
15 charged for the property or service when payment is made by use of a
16 credit card if either: (i) no price is tagged or posted; or (ii) two
17 tags or prices are posted, one of which is charged when payment is made
18 by use of a credit card and the other when payment is made by use of
19 cash, check, or similar means.
20 3. Any seller who violates the provisions of this section shall be
21 guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed [five
22 hundred] one thousand dollars or a term of imprisonment up to one year,
23 or both.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11394-03-9
