NY State Senate Bill S6303A

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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Actions

view actions (3)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 26, 2023	print number 6303a
May 26, 2023	amend and recommit to consumer protection
Apr 12, 2023	referred to consumer protection

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

Original

A (Active)

S6303 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4796
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §396-z, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S8530, A9343

S6303 - Summary

Provides for an allowable recovery by a rental vehicle company from its renters for actual costs incurred to title, register, plate and inspect rental vehicles as determined by an annual audit conducted by the rental vehicle company.

S6303 - Sponsor Memo

S6303 - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6303
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 12, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- 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  vehicle  cost
   recovery fees
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 396-z of the general business  law
 is amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
   (M)  "VEHICLE  COST  RECOVERY  FEE"  MEANS THE ALLOWABLE RECOVERY BY A
 RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY FROM ITS RENTERS FOR THE ACTUAL COSTS INCURRED TO
 TITLE, REGISTER, PLATE AND INSPECT RENTAL  VEHICLES  IN  THE  STATE  AND
 WHICH  FEE  SHALL  BE DETERMINED INITIALLY BY A RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY'S
 GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE OF THE RENTAL  VEHICLE  COMPANY'S  DAILY  CHARGE  TO
 RECOVER  ITS  ACTUAL  TOTAL  ANNUAL MOTOR VEHICLE TITLING, REGISTRATION,
 PLATING AND INSPECTION COSTS, AND THEREAFTER BY AN INTERNAL AUDIT OF THE
 PRECEDING YEAR'S ACTUAL COSTS CONDUCTED BY THE  RENTAL  VEHICLE  COMPANY
 FROM  ADJUSTING THE EXPENSE LEVEL DURING A CALENDAR YEAR TO MORE CLOSELY
 REFLECT ACTUAL COSTS INCURRED.  IF THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE VEHICLE  COST
 RECOVERY  FEES  COLLECTED BY A RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY UNDER THIS SECTION
 IN ANY CALENDAR YEAR EXCEEDS THE CAR RENTAL COMPANY'S  ACTUAL  COSTS  TO
 LICENSE,  TITLE,  REGISTER,  AND  PLATE MOTOR VEHICLES AND HAVE THE SAME
 INSPECTED FOR THAT CALENDAR YEAR, THE CAR RENTAL COMPANY MAY RETAIN  THE
 EXCESS  AMOUNT,  AND  ADJUST  THE ESTIMATED AVERAGE PER VEHICLE TITLING,
 LICENSING, PLATING, INSPECTING AND REGISTRATION CHARGE FOR THE FOLLOWING
 CALENDAR YEAR BY A CORRESPONDING AMOUNT.    EACH  SUCH  AUDIT  SHALL  BE
 RETAINED  FOR  A  PERIOD  OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE YEARS, AND SHALL BE MADE
 AVAILABLE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR  VEHICLES  AND
 ATTORNEY GENERAL UPON WRITTEN REQUEST.
   §  2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 10 of section 396-z of the
 general business law, as amended by chapter 109 of the laws of 2018, are
 amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09218-01-3

 S. 6303                             2
 
   (a) A rental vehicle company shall  not  charge  in  addition  to  the
 rental  rate,  taxes,  and mileage charge, if any, any fee which must be
 paid as a condition of renting the vehicle, such as, but not limited to,
 required fuel surcharges, each of which shall be  separately  stated  on
 the  rental  agreement.  In  addition, a rental vehicle company may also
 state separately and charge, where applicable, airport fees as such term
 is defined herein. PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT A RENTAL VEHICLE  COMPANY  MAY
 ALSO  SEPARATELY  STATE  THE  VEHICLE  COST RECOVERY FEE AS SUCH TERM IS
 DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (M) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION.
   (b) In addition to the rental rate, taxes,  applicable  airport  fees,
 VEHICLE  COST RECOVERY FEE, and mileage charge, if any, a rental vehicle
 company may charge for an item or service provided in connection with  a
 particular rental transaction if the renter could have avoided incurring
 the  charge  by  not  choosing to obtain or utilize the optional item or
 service, such as, but not limited to, optional accessories  or  services
 requested  by  the  renter,  service  charges  incident  to the renter's
 optional return of the vehicle to a location  other  than  the  location
 where the vehicle was rented, and charges for refueling the vehicle with
 as much fuel as was in the fuel tank at the beginning of the rental.
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law, provided that the amendments to section 396-z of  the
 general  business law made by sections one and two of this act shall not
 affect the expiration of such section and  shall  be  deemed  to  expire
 therewith.

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4796
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §396-z, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S8530, A9343

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S6303A

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to vehicle cost
recovery fees

 
PURPOSE:

This bill will require that industrial development agencies (IDAs)
implement policies for the return of financial assistance or tax incen-
tives provided to a project that is determined to show material short-
falls in job creation and retention or material violations of the
project agreement. It also prohibits IDAs from offering financial
assistance to projects that are already in development at the time of an
application.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision 11 of section 874 of the general municipal
law to require that local industrial development agencies implement

their policies for return of financial assistance or tax incentives
provided to a project whenever the agency's annual assessment shows
material shortfalls in job creation and retention projections or materi-
al violations of the terms and conditions of the project agreement. Adds
new subdivision 13, stating that IDAs may not grant tax exemptions to a
project already in development unless environmental contamination
requiring a significant increase in project costs has been discovered
during the development of a project or where a municipality has reas-
sessed all or part of the project site resulting in an increase in prop-
erty taxes of more than 50%.

Section 2: Amends section 854 of the general municipal law by adding a
new subdivision 21 defining the term "in development."

Section 3: Amends section 862 of the general municipal law to add a new
subdivision 3, stating that IDAs may not give financial incentives or
subsidies to a project already in development unless environmental
contamination requiring a significant increase in project costs has been
discovered during the development of a project or where a municipality
has reassessed all or part of the project site resulting in an increase
in property taxes of more than 50%.

Section 4: Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Governor Nelson Rockefeller enacted IDAs in 1969 for the purpose of
incentivizing economic activities in New York State by issuing financial
assistance to private companies, primarily in the form of tax breaks.
While reasonable incentives are occasionally necessary to attract or
retain business, the extent to which IDAs have been providing question-
able benefits brings into question whose interests are being served by
the system. Projects requesting financial assistance are frequently
approved with minimal scrutiny and little community input. This system
appears to often favor the interests of business without sufficiently
examining if the public interest is being met.

IDAs often grant private companies financial assistance in return for
economic benefit, typically a promise to create or retain jobs in the
community. IDAs are required to annually evaluate the success of each
project at meeting the job and economic metrics agreed to as a condition
of financial assistance. Additionally, they must develop policies for
the return of all or part of the financial assistance provided for a
project in the event that a project has material shortfalls in job
creation and retention or material violations of the conditions of the
agreement. However, IDA boards have the discretion to implement such
policies and compel the return of taxpayer funds. Too often, projects
fall significantly short of their benefit promises, distressing the
economic welfare of local communities. This bill proposes to address
this abuse by requiring IDA boards to compel the return of taxpayer-
funded incentives issued to underperforming projects.

The purpose of IDAs is to incentivize companies to relocate or remain in
its community through the offer of financial assistance. However, it is
important to prevent IDAs from placing the interests of companies ahead
of the public trust, which they are designed to serve. The mission of an
IDA should be to not simply incentivize for the sake of incentivizing,
but to maximize a community's benefit, particularly when it comes to the
project's ratable. While determining the seriousness of a threat to
locate or relocate elsewhere can be a difficult and often subjective
process, such scrutiny will benefit the taxpayers that IDAs are formed
to represent. This bill would prevent companies that threaten relocation
despite already being under-construction from receiving any unjustified
financial incentives.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2020: A.11003; 2021-22:  S.8530C/A.473

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state. The return of financial assistance granted by indus-
trial development agencies to underperforming projects will benefit
local taxpayers.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6303--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 12, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- 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  vehicle  cost
   recovery fees

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 396-z of the general business  law
 is amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
   (M) "VEHICLE COST RECOVERY FEE" MEANS THE ALLOWABLE RECOVERY, PURSUANT
 TO  THIS  SECTION,  BY A RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY FROM ITS RENTERS FOR THE
 ACTUAL COSTS INCURRED TO TITLE, REGISTER, PLATE AND INSPECT RENTAL VEHI-
 CLES IN THE STATE AND WHICH FEE  SHALL  BE  DETERMINED  INITIALLY  BY  A
 RENTAL  VEHICLE  COMPANY'S  GOOD  FAITH  ESTIMATE  OF THE RENTAL VEHICLE
 COMPANY'S DAILY CHARGE TO RECOVER ITS ACTUAL TOTAL ANNUAL MOTOR  VEHICLE
 TITLING,  REGISTRATION,  PLATING AND INSPECTION COSTS, AND THEREAFTER BY
 AN INTERNAL AUDIT OF THE PRECEDING YEAR'S ACTUAL COSTS CONDUCTED BY  THE
 RENTAL  VEHICLE COMPANY FROM ADJUSTING THE EXPENSE LEVEL DURING A CALEN-
 DAR YEAR TO MORE CLOSELY REFLECT ACTUAL COSTS INCURRED.   IF  THE  TOTAL
 AMOUNT  OF  THE VEHICLE COST RECOVERY FEES COLLECTED BY A RENTAL VEHICLE
 COMPANY UNDER THIS SECTION IN ANY CALENDAR YEAR EXCEEDS THE  CAR  RENTAL
 COMPANY'S  ACTUAL  COSTS  TO  LICENSE,  TITLE, REGISTER, AND PLATE MOTOR
 VEHICLES AND HAVE THE SAME INSPECTED FOR THAT  CALENDAR  YEAR,  THE  CAR
 RENTAL  COMPANY  MAY  RETAIN THE EXCESS AMOUNT, AND ADJUST THE ESTIMATED
 AVERAGE PER VEHICLE TITLING, LICENSING, PLATING, INSPECTING  AND  REGIS-
 TRATION  CHARGE  FOR  THE  FOLLOWING  CALENDAR  YEAR  BY A CORRESPONDING
 AMOUNT.  EACH SUCH AUDIT SHALL BE RETAINED FOR A PERIOD OF NOT LESS THAN
 FIVE YEARS, AND SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE  TO  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,
 DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND ATTORNEY GENERAL UPON WRITTEN REQUEST.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09218-03-3
 S. 6303--A                          2

 
   §  2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 10 of section 396-z of the
 general business law, as amended by chapter 109 of the laws of 2018, are
 amended to read as follows:
   (a)  A  rental  vehicle  company  shall  not charge in addition to the
 rental rate, taxes, and mileage charge, if any, any fee  which  must  be
 paid as a condition of renting the vehicle, such as, but not limited to,
 required  fuel  surcharges,  each of which shall be separately stated on
 the rental agreement. In addition, a rental  vehicle  company  may  also
 state separately and charge, where applicable, airport fees as such term
 is  defined  herein. PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT A RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY MAY
 ALSO SEPARATELY STATE THE VEHICLE COST RECOVERY  FEE  AS  SUCH  TERM  IS
 DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (M) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION.
   (b)  In  addition  to the rental rate, taxes, applicable airport fees,
 VEHICLE COST RECOVERY FEE, and mileage charge, if any, a rental  vehicle
 company  may charge for an item or service provided in connection with a
 particular rental transaction if the renter could have avoided incurring
 the charge by not choosing to obtain or utilize  the  optional  item  or
 service,  such  as, but not limited to, optional accessories or services
 requested by the  renter,  service  charges  incident  to  the  renter's
 optional  return  of  the  vehicle to a location other than the location
 where the vehicle was rented, and charges for refueling the vehicle with
 as much fuel as was in the fuel tank at the beginning of the rental.
   § 3.  Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize or require a
 rental vehicle company to  charge  for  incurred  costs  that  were  not
 authorized  pursuant  to section 396-z of the general business law prior
 to the effective date of this act.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have  become a law, provided that the amendments to section 396-z of the
 general business law made by sections one and two of this act shall  not
 affect  the  expiration  of  such  section and shall be deemed to expire
 therewith.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S6303A

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Bill Amendments

S6303 - Details

S6303 - Summary

S6303 - Sponsor Memo

S6303 - Bill Text download pdf

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Details

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S6303A

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Timothy M. Kennedy

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Bill Amendments

S6303 - Details

S6303 - Summary

S6303 - Sponsor Memo

S6303 - Bill Text download pdf

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Details

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6303A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments