Bill Text: NY A03245 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

New York Assembly Bill 3245

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

Bill Title: Requires businesses to notify consumers of an upcoming automatic renewal or continuous service charge to the consumer's account forty-five days prior to such charge; requires businesses to include instructions on how to cancel such renewal or charge in the notice to the consumer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-06-06 - substituted by s5941b [A03245 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03245-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3245--C
                                                                 Cal. No. 37

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. PAULIN, SAYEGH -- 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 from committee, advanced  to  a  third  reading,
          amended  and  ordered  reprinted,  retaining its place on the order of
          third reading -- again amended on third  reading,  ordered  reprinted,
          retaining its place on the order of third reading

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring busi-
          nesses to notify consumers of an upcoming automatic renewal or contin-
          uous service charge thirty days prior to such charge

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 3 and 8 of section 527-a of the general  busi-
     2  ness  law,  as  added by chapter 267 of the laws of 2020, are amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    3. a. In addition to the  requirements  of  subdivision  two  of  this
     5  section,  a  consumer  who  accepts  an  automatic renewal or continuous
     6  service offer online shall be allowed to terminate the automatic renewal
     7  or continuous service exclusively online[, which may include]. To satis-
     8  fy the requirements of this subdivision, a  business  shall  either  (1)
     9  provide  the  consumer  with  a  model  termination email [formatted and
    10  provided by the business] that [a] such consumer can send to [the]  such
    11  business  without additional information to notify such business of such
    12  consumer's intent to terminate  such  automatic  renewal  or  continuous
    13  service,  or  (2)  send  the  consumer  an  email containing a link to a
    14  website or other online service where such consumer can  terminate  such
    15  automatic renewal or continuous service.
    16    b. A business that allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or
    17  continuous service offer for an initial paid term of one year or longer,
    18  provided  that such automatic renewal or continuous service renews for a
    19  paid term of one month or longer, shall notify  such  consumer  of  such

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03135-05-3

        A. 3245--C                          2

     1  upcoming  automatic renewal or continuous service charge to such consum-
     2  er's account at least fifteen days before, but not more than thirty days
     3  before, the cancellation  deadline  for  such  automatic  renewal.  Such
     4  notice shall include instructions on how to cancel such renewal charge.
     5    c.  The  provisions of paragraph b of this subdivision shall not apply
     6  to any business, or subsidiary or affiliate thereof,  regulated  by  the
     7  public service commission or the federal communications commission.
     8    8. The following are exempt from the requirements of this article:
     9    a.  any  service  provided by a business or its affiliate where either
    10  the business or its affiliate is doing business pursuant to a  franchise
    11  issued by a political subdivision of the state;
    12    b.  any  entity,  or subsidiary or affiliate thereof, regulated by the
    13  department of financial services;
    14    c. security system alarm operators;
    15    d. banks, bank holding companies, or the subsidiary  or  affiliate  of
    16  either, or credit unions or other financial institutions, licensed under
    17  state or federal law; and
    18    e. sellers and administrators of a service contract, as defined pursu-
    19  ant to section seven thousand nine hundred two of the insurance law.
    20    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.