Bill Text: NY S04063 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Prohibits publishers from limiting the number of copies of e-books available at public libraries in New York.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO LIBRARIES [S04063 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04063-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4063

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. MANNION, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Libraries

        AN ACT to amend the general business law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
          publishers  from limiting the number of copies of e-books available at
          public libraries

          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  338 to read as follows:
     3    § 338. E-books.  1.  For  the  purposes of this section, the following
     4  terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    a. "E-book" shall mean a book published in  or  converted  to  digital
     6  format for display on a computer screen or handheld electronic device.
     7    b. "Public library" shall mean a library, other than a professional or
     8  technical  library,  established  for  free  public purposes by official
     9  action of a municipality or district or the legislature, where the whole
    10  interests belong to the public, or any other library maintained for  the
    11  benefit  and  free use on equal terms of all the people of the community
    12  in which such library is located.
    13    2. No person, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated  joint-
    14  stock association, or corporation publishing a book for sale in New York
    15  state  in an e-book format shall, in any way, limit the number of copies
    16  of such e-book which may be made available  for  rental  at  any  public
    17  library in New York state.
    18    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    19  have become a law.


         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07788-01-3