Bill Text: NY S04036 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-04-17 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [S04036 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04036-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          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.