Bill Text: NY A08217 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits certain surcharges on certain credit or debit card transactions in the city of New York; provides that no agency or department of the city of New York, or any tribunal located therein, shall be authorized to impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to use a credit or debit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means to pay any fine, civil penalty, or fee owed.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to cities [A08217 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08217-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8217

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    November 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. BERGER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Cities

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  administrative code of the city of New York, in
          relation to prohibiting certain surcharges on  credit  or  debit  card
          transactions

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 11-105 of the administrative  code
     2  of  the city of New York, as amended by chapter 309 of the laws of 1996,
     3  is amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows:
     4    3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the  contrary  except
     5  for  subdivision  four  of this section, any agency or department of the
     6  city which, pursuant to an agreement entered into  under  this  section,
     7  accepts  credit  cards  as a means of payment of fines, civil penalties,
     8  taxes, fees, rent, rates, charges or other amounts owed by a  person  to
     9  the  city  shall  be  authorized  to  charge and collect from any person
    10  offering a credit card as a means of payment of a fine a reasonable  and
    11  uniform fee as a condition of accepting such credit card in payment of a
    12  [fine,  civil  penalty,] tax, [fee,] rent, rate, charge or other amount.
    13  Such fee shall not exceed the cost incurred by the agency or  department
    14  in  connection  with  such  credit  card  transaction,  which cost shall
    15  include any fee payable by the city to the financing agency.
    16    4. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no agency or department of
    17  the city, or any tribunal located therein, shall be authorized to impose
    18  a surcharge on a holder who elects to use a credit or debit card in lieu
    19  of payment by cash, check, or similar  means  to  pay  any  fine,  civil
    20  penalty,  or fee owed. For the purposes of this subdivision, the follow-
    21  ing definitions shall apply:
    22    a. "Holder" means a person to whom such a credit card or debit card is
    23  issued or who has agreed with the issuer to pay obligations arising from
    24  the use of a credit card or debit card issued to another person.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05217-01-3
        A. 8217                             2

     1    b. "Person" includes an individual, corporation, partnership or  asso-
     2  ciation,  two  or  more persons having a joint or common interest or any
     3  other legal or commercial entity.
     4    c. "Issuer" means a person who issues a credit card or a debit card.
     5    d.  "Credit  card"  means  and includes any credit card, credit plate,
     6  charge plate, courtesy card, or  other  identification  card  or  device
     7  issued  by a person to another person which may be used to obtain a cash
     8  advance or a loan or credit or to purchase or lease property or services
     9  on the credit of the issuer or of the holder.
    10    e. "Debit card" means a card, plate or other similar device  issued  a
    11  person to another person which may be used, without a personal identifi-
    12  cation  number,  code  or similar identification number, code or similar
    13  identification, to purchase or lease property or services. The term does
    14  not include a credit card or a check, draft or similar instrument.
    15    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    16  have become a law.