Bill Text: NY S07032 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires travel consultants to furnish written or electronic travel agreements to consumers; requires written or electronic disclosure of terms of such agreement at the time such agreement is entered into; increases penalties for relevant violations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S07032 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S07032-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7032
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 3, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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  travel  agree-
          ments
          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 157-a of the general business law,
     2  as added by chapter 754 of the laws of  1990,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1.  When  a  person  agrees, in response to a solicitation by a travel
     5  promoter which is directed  to  the  person  individually,  to  purchase
     6  membership  in  a  travel  club  or  to  enter  into any travel services
     7  contract or other agreement to accept transportation, lodging, an inter-
     8  est or investment in a time share plan,  travel  investments,  or  other
     9  travel  services,  the  travel promoter must provide such purchaser with
    10  written or electronic disclosure of all limitations on and terms of such
    11  purchase or agreement [within five business days  of  the  date  of  the
    12  agreement]  at the time or prior to the receipt of payment. Such disclo-
    13  sure shall clearly and conspicuously include:
    14    a. the name, business address  and  telephone  number  of  the  travel
    15  promoter;
    16    b. the amount due, the date of payment, the purpose of the payment and
    17  an itemized statement of the balance due, if any;
    18    c.  the  name  of  the  carrier  with  which  the  travel promoter has
    19  contracted to provide the transportation, the type and size  of  carrier
    20  to be used, and the date, time and place of each departure;
    21    d.  a  detailed description of any other services provided in conjunc-
    22  tion with the transportation;
    23    e. conditions, if any, upon which the travel services contract between
    24  the travel promoter and the traveler may be cancelled,  and  the  rights
    25  and obligations of all parties in the event of such cancellation;
    26    f.  the  conditions,  if  any, upon which the travel services contract
    27  between the travel promoter and the carrier or  other  service  provider
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04415-01-7
        S. 7032                             2
     1  may  be  cancelled, and the rights and obligations of all parties in the
     2  event of such cancellation; and
     3    g.  a  description of all contingencies, limitations and/or conditions
     4  of the agreement.
     5    § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 157-b
     6  to read as follows:
     7    § 157-b. Additional prohibitive practices by travel  consultants.    A
     8  travel  consultant  shall  not  receive  payment  for travel or services
     9  connected therewith unless at the  time  or  prior  to  the  receipt  of
    10  payment,  the  travel  consultant provides the purchaser with written or
    11  electronic disclosure of the terms  of  the  purchase.  Such  disclosure
    12  shall clearly and conspicuously include:
    13    1.  the  name,  business  address  and  telephone number of the travel
    14  consultant;
    15    2. the amount due, the date of payment, the purpose of the payment and
    16  an itemized statement of the balance due, if any;
    17    3. the name of the  carrier  with  which  the  travel  consultant  has
    18  contracted  to  provide the transportation, the type and size of carrier
    19  to be used, and the date, time and place of each departure;
    20    4. a detailed description of any other services provided  in  conjunc-
    21  tion with the transportation;
    22    5.  conditions,  if  any,  upon  which the services between the travel
    23  consultant and the traveler may be cancelled, and the rights  and  obli-
    24  gations of all parties in the event of such cancellation;
    25    6. the conditions, if any, upon which the agreement between the travel
    26  consultant  and  the carrier or other service provider may be cancelled,
    27  and the rights and obligations of all  parties  in  the  event  of  such
    28  cancellation; and
    29    7.  a  description of all contingencies, limitations and/or conditions
    30  of the agreement.
    31    § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 159 of the general business  law,
    32  as  amended  by  chapter 754 of the laws of 1990, are amended to read as
    33  follows:
    34    1. Except as otherwise provided by  law,  any  travel  consultant  who
    35  shall violate the terms of section one hundred fifty-eight of this arti-
    36  cle  shall be guilty of a misdemeanor provided, however, that where such
    37  violation results in five thousand dollars or more of financial loss  to
    38  a consumer, such violation shall constitute a class E felony.
    39    2.  Except as otherwise provided by law, any travel promoter who shall
    40  knowingly violate the terms of section one hundred fifty-eight-a of this
    41  article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor provided, however,  that  where
    42  such  violation  results  in  five thousand dollars or more of financial
    43  loss to a consumer, such violation shall constitute a class E felony.
    44    § 4. Subdivision 4 of section 159 of  the  general  business  law,  as
    45  added by chapter 754 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
    46    4.  Enforcement;  penalties.  Whenever  there  shall be a violation of
    47  section  one  hundred  fifty-seven-a,  one  hundred  fifty-seven-b,  one
    48  hundred  fifty-eight  or  one  hundred fifty-eight-a of this article, an
    49  application may be made by the attorney  general  in  the  name  of  the
    50  people  of  the state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdic-
    51  tion by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice  to
    52  the  defendant  of  not  less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the
    53  continuance of such violations; and if it shall appear to the  satisfac-
    54  tion  of  the court or justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated
    55  this article, an injunction may be issued  by  such  court  or  justice,
    56  enjoining and restraining any further violation, without requiring proof
        S. 7032                             3
     1  that  any  person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby.  In any
     2  such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the  attorney  general
     3  as  provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three
     4  hundred  three  of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu-
     5  tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this  arti-
     6  cle has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty [of not more than
     7  five  hundred  dollars]  based  on  the  amount of financial loss to the
     8  consumer whose agreement was the subject of  such  proceeding  for  each
     9  violation.  In connection with any such proposed application, the attor-
    10  ney  general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of the
    11  relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil prac-
    12  tice law and rules.
    13    § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    14  have  become  a law and shall apply to all proceedings for violations of
    15  article 10-A of the general business law beginning  on  and  after  such
    16  effective date.