Bill Text: NY A00370 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits fee charges for payment of an account regardless of the method of payment.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-24 - advanced to third reading cal.550 [A00370 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A00370-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        370--B
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. DINOWITZ, ROSENTHAL, JAFFEE, JACOBS, WEISENBERG,
         COLTON, GIBSON, ROBERTS, MOYA, MONTESANO, GALEF,  ZEBROWSKI,  ESPINAL,
         COOK,  RAMOS, WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND, BRAUN-
         STEIN, BRENNAN, CERETTO,  ORTIZ,  TITONE,  WRIGHT  --  read  once  and
         referred  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer  Affairs  and Protection --
         committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
         recommitted  to said committee -- reported and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted
         as amended and recommitted to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting fee
         charges for payment of an account regardless of the method of payment
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 399-zzz of  the  general  business
    2  law,  as added by chapter 556 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    1. (A) Subject to federal law and regulation, no person,  partnership,
    5  corporation, association or other business entity shall charge a consum-
    6  er  an additional rate or fee or a differential in the rate or fee asso-
    7  ciated with payment on an account:
    8    (I) when the consumer chooses  to  [pay  by  United  States  mail  or]
    9  receive a paper billing statement; OR
   10    (II) WHETHER SUCH PAYMENT IS MADE BY MAIL, ELECTRONIC TRANSFER, A LIVE
   11  CUSTOMER  SERVICE  REPRESENTATIVE, TELEPHONE AUTHORIZATION BY MEANS OF A
   12  VOICE RESPONSE UNIT OR INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEM, OTHER MEANS OR
   13  A COMBINATION THEREOF, UNLESS SUCH PAYMENT IS EXPEDITED BY SUCH  PERSON,
   14  PARTNERSHIP, CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION OR OTHER BUSINESS ENTITY TO CREDIT
   15  SUCH  PAYMENT  THE  SAME  DAY  OR,  IF THE PAYMENT IS RECEIVED AFTER ANY
   16  ESTABLISHED CUT-OFF TIME, THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03106-04-3
       A. 370--B                           2
    1  THIS  SUBPARAGRAPH,  "EXPEDITED" MEANS A RUSH PAYMENT METHOD OUTSIDE THE
    2  NORMAL AND USUAL COURSE OF BUSINESS.
    3    (B)  This  subdivision  shall  not  be construed to prohibit a person,
    4  partnership, corporation, association  or  other  business  entity  from
    5  offering  consumers  a  credit  or  other  incentive to elect a specific
    6  payment or billing option.
    7    S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    8  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.