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A BILL 1
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25-215 3
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 5
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To amend, on a temporary basis, the Fair Meals Delivery Act of 2022, to restrict third-party meal 10
delivery services from reducing a restaurant’s placement within a given list of restaurants 11
on a third-party food delivery platform based on the level or percentage of commissions 12
paid, to restrict third-party meal delivery services from reducing a restaurant’s delivery 13
radius based on the level or percentage of commissions paid, to restrict third-party meal 14
delivery services from limiting driver availability based on the level or percentage of 15
commissions paid, to require third-party meal delivery services to disclose, in plain 16
language, all fees, commissions, and charges related to contracted services for covered 17
restaurants, and to make other clarifying changes. 18
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 20
act may be cited as the “Food Delivery Fees Transparency Temporary Amendment Act of 2023”. 21
Sec. 2. The Fair Meals Delivery Act of 2022, effective March 10, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-22
292; D.C. Official Code § 48-651 et seq.), is amended as follows: 23
(a) The long title is amended by striking the word “platform” wherever it appears and 24
inserting the word “service” in its place. 25
(b) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 48-651) is amended as follows: 26
(1) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the word “platform” and inserting the 27
word “service” in its place. 28
(2) Paragraph (2) is amended to read as follows: 29 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(2) “Core delivery service” means a service that lists a restaurant and makes the 30
restaurant discoverable on all third-party meal delivery platforms where a third-party meal 31
delivery service lists restaurants and facilitates or performs the delivery through employees or 32
independent contractors of the third-party meal delivery service of food or beverages from 33
restaurants to customers. The term “core delivery service” does not include any other service that 34
may be provided by a third-party meal delivery service to a restaurant, including advertising or 35
other promotional services, search engine optimization, business consulting, or credit card 36
processing.”. 37
(3) New paragraphs (2A) and (2B) are added to read as follows: 38
“(2A) “Covered restaurant” means a restaurant that elects to receive only core 39
delivery service. 40
“(2B) “Delivery radius” means the circular delivery area from around a restaurant 41
within which customers can search for and order from a restaurant.”. 42
(4) Paragraph (6) is amended by striking the phrase “by, and same-day delivery, 43
and the” and inserting the phrase “by, and provides the” in its place. 44
(5) A new paragraph (6A) is added to read as follows: 45
“(6A) “Third-party meal delivery service” means a person that operates a third-46
party meal delivery platform.”. 47
(c) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 48-652) is amended as follows: 48
(1) The section heading is amended by striking the phrase “meals delivery 49
platforms” and inserting the phrase ”meal delivery services” in its place. 50 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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(2) Subsection (a) is amended by striking the word “platform” both times it 51
appears and inserting the word “service” in its place. 52
(3) Subsection (b) is amended by striking the word “platform” both times it 53
appears and inserting the word “service” in its place. 54
(4) Subsection (c) is amended as follows: 55
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the word “platform” and 56
inserting the word “service” in its place. 57
(B) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the word “platform” and 58
inserting the word “service” in its place. 59
(5) Subsection (d) is amended by striking the phrase “platform that” and inserting 60
the phrase “service that” in its place. 61
(6) New subsections (e), (f), and (g) are added to read as follows: 62
“(e) A third party meal delivery service shall not exclude any restaurant with whom the 63
third party meal delivery service has an agreement from a customer within 4 miles of a 64
restaurant. 65
“(e) A third-party meal delivery service shall not reduce the placement of a covered 66
restaurant, in any page, list, or search results in which the covered restaurant is included, relative 67
to other restaurants, based on the level or percentage of commissions paid; provided, that this 68
subsection shall not be construed to restrict a third-party meal delivery service’s ability to use 69
any method (that does not conflict with the restrictions in this subsection or any other applicable 70 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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law) to determine the displaying and ordering of restaurants on a third-party meal delivery 71
platform, including: 72
“(1) Offering preferential listing to restaurants that pay for advertising or other 73
promotional services; 74
“(2) Displaying restaurants based on a particular customer’s search or purchase 75
history, proximity to a customer’s location, or other similar factors; and 76
“(3) Relying on an algorithm to implement paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection. 77
“(f) A third-party meal delivery service shall not reduce the delivery radius of a covered 78
restaurant below 54 miles, based on the level or percentage of commissions paid. 79
“(g) A third-party meal delivery service shall not reduce the availability of delivery 80
drivers provided to a covered restaurant, based on the level or percentage of commissions paid; 81
provided, that this subsection shall not be construed to restrict a third-party meal delivery 82
service’s ability to use any method (that does not conflict with the restrictions in this subsection 83
or any other applicable law) to offer expedited or priority driver services to a covered restaurant 84
that pays for such services on a third-party meal delivery platform.”. 85
(d) Section 4 (D.C. Official Code § 48-653) is amended as follows: 86
(1) Strike the phrase “, the third-party meal delivery platform” and insert the 87
phrase “, the third-party meal delivery service” in its place. 88
(2) Strike the phrase “platform (“charges”)” and inserting the phrase “service 89
(“charges”)” in its place. 90
(e) A new section 4a is added to read as follows: 91 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“Sec. 4a. Restaurant disclosure requirement. 92
“A third-party meal delivery service shall: 93
“(1) Disclose to a covered restaurant, in plain language, the fees, commissions, 94
and charges associated with the contracted services in the agreement; and 95
“(2) Maintain all contracts with covered restaurants in its records for 3 years after 96
the date the agreement is executed.”. 97
(f) Section 5 (D.C. Official Code § 48-654) is amended as follows: 98
(1) Subsection (a) is amended as follows: 99
(A) Strike the phrase “third-party meal delivery platform” both times it 100
appears and insert the phrase “third-party meal delivery service” in its place. 101
(B) Strike the phrase “platform does” and insert the phrase “third-party 102
meal delivery service does” in its place. 103
(2) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 104
(A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the word “platform” and 105
inserting the word “service” in its place. 106
(B) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the word “platform” and 107
inserting the word “service” in its place. 108
(g) Section 6 (D.C. Official Code § 48-655) is amended to read as follows: 109
“Sec. 6. Third-party delivery platform; registration requirement. 110
“A third-party food delivery service operating in the District shall register with the 111
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.”. 112 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 113
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 114
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 115
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § l-301.47a). 116
Sec. 4. Effective date. 117
(a) This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by 118
the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review 119
as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 120
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 121
Columbia Register. 122
(b) This act shall expire after 225 days of its having effect. 123