S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  10676

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 12, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hyndman) --
  read once and referred  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer  Affairs  and
  Protection

AN  ACT  to  amend the personal property law, in relation to rental-pur-
  chase agreement forms

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision 2, paragraph (e) of subdivision 3, and subdi-
vision 4 of section 501 of the personal property law, as added by  chap-
ter 792 of the laws of 1986, are amended to read as follows:
  2.  Disclosures  required  by this section must be printed or typed in
each rental-purchase agreement in a size equal to at  least  [ten-point]
TWELVE-POINT bold-faced type.
  (e) requiring the payment of a late charge or reinstatement fee unless
a periodic payment is delinquent for more than three days for agreements
that  are  renewed  on  week by week terms and seven days for agreements
that are renewed on month by month  terms[,];  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT
NEITHER  SATURDAYS,  SUNDAYS,  NOR  FEDERALLY-RECOGNIZED HOLIDAYS DURING
WHICH THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE IS NOT OPEN TO THE  PUBLIC  SHALL
COUNT  TOWARD THE THREE OR SEVEN DAY TOTALS, and the charge or fee is in
an amount not more than the greater of ten  percent  of  the  delinquent
amount  or three dollars for agreements that are renewed on week by week
terms and not more than the greater of ten  percent  of  the  delinquent
amount or five dollars for agreements that are renewed on month by month
terms.  In the event that multiple items are leased to a consumer pursu-
ant to more than one rental-purchase agreement,  any  late  fee  imposed
pursuant  to  this  section shall not exceed ten percent of the total of
the periodic payments that are delinquent.
  4. Only one late charge or reinstatement fee may  be  assessed  for  a
delinquent  periodic  payment  regardless  of the period during which it
remains in default. No merchant shall assess a late charge for a period-
ic payment made in full on its due date or within three days for  agree-
ments  that  are  renewed on week by week terms or seven days for agree-
ments that are renewed on month by month terms when the only delinquency

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

                                                           LBD10752-04-6

A. 10676                            2

is attributable to late fees  assessed  on  earlier  periodic  payments;
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NEITHER SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS, NOR FEDERALLY-RECOG-
NIZED HOLIDAYS DURING WHICH THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE IS NOT OPEN
TO  THE  PUBLIC  SHALL COUNT TOWARD THE THREE OR SEVEN DAY TOTALS.  With
respect to payments accepted  by  mail  or  by  store  deposit  box,  no
merchant  shall  assess a late fee for payments which are post-marked or
received before the expiration of the applicable delinquency periods.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
have  become  a  law  and  shall apply to all agreements entered into or
offered on or after such date.