Bill Text: NY S09365 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits third-party restaurant reservation services from arranging unauthorized restaurant reservations with food service establishments; establishes fines for violations of such prohibition.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-06 - SUBSTITUTED BY A10215A [S09365 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09365-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9365--A

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 14, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  FERNANDEZ, CHU -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer
          Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
          third-party restaurant reservation services from  arranging  unauthor-
          ized restaurant reservations with food service establishments

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

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "restaurant reservation anti-piracy act".
     3    § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 391-w
     4  to read as follows:
     5    § 391-w. Unauthorized restaurant reservations. 1. Definitions. For the
     6  purposes  of  this section, the following terms shall have the following
     7  meanings:
     8    (a) "Food service establishment" shall have the same meaning  as  that
     9  term is defined in section three hundred ninety-one-v of this article.
    10    (b)  "Third-party  restaurant  reservation service" means any website,
    11  mobile application  or  other  internet  service  that:  (i)  offers  or
    12  arranges  for  reserving  on-premises  service  for a customer at a food
    13  service establishment; and (ii) that is owned and operated by  a  person
    14  other  than  the  person  who  owns such food service establishment.   A
    15  third-party restaurant reservation service shall not include any  reser-
    16  vation  distribution channels that are authorized to distribute reserva-
    17  tions  by  way  of a contractual relationship with either the applicable
    18  food service establishment or a contractual designee of the food service
    19  establishment who obtained   reservation  distribution  rights  directly
    20  from the food service establishment.
    21    2. A third-party restaurant reservation service shall not list, adver-
    22  tise,  promote,  or  sell  reservations for a food service establishment
    23  through the website, mobile application or other platform of such third-
    24  party restaurant reservation service without a written agreement between
    25  such third-party restaurant reservation service and  such  food  service

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15420-11-4
        S. 9365--A                          2

     1  establishment  to include reservations at the food service establishment
     2  on such website, mobile application or other platform.
     3    3.    Any  person who violates, or causes another person to violate, a
     4  provision of this section or  any  rule  promulgated  pursuant  thereto,
     5  shall  be  subject to a civil penalty that shall not exceed one thousand
     6  dollars for each violation. Violations by third-party restaurant  reser-
     7  vation  services  under  this  section shall accrue on a daily basis for
     8  each day and for each food service establishment with respect to which a
     9  violation of this section or  any  rule  promulgated  pursuant  to  this
    10  section  was  committed.  A  proceeding  to recover any civil penalty or
    11  restitution authorized pursuant to this section may  be  brought  within
    12  any agency of the state designated to conduct such proceedings.
    13    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    14  have become a law.