SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2133
As Recommended by House Committee on
Financial Institutions and Pensions
Brief*
HB 2133 would repeal the prohibition on imposing a
surcharge on payments made by credit or debit cards.
The bill would repeal the statute within the Uniform
Consumer Credit Code (KSA 16a-2-403) that prohibits the
imposition of this surcharge and amend other sections of law
to remove references to the statute.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Financial Institutions and Pensions at the request of the
Kansas Chamber. [Note: A companion bill, SB 104, has been
introduced in the Senate.]
House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by representatives of the Kansas Chamber,
Fuel True, Kansas Restaurant & Hospitality Association, and
National Federation of Independent Business–Kansas.
Written-only proponent testimony was submitted by
representatives of the Kansas Association of Counties;
Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas
Agribusiness Retailers Association; and Overland Park
Chamber. The proponents generally indicated the bill would
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org allow retailers the flexibility to collect a surcharge to help
cover credit and debit card fee expenses, which have
increased over time as consumers have shifted from the use
of cash to credit and debit cards. Conferees also noted
Kansas is one of four states with the prohibition on credit card
surcharges. The Kansas Chamber representative also noted
a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Expressions Hair
Design v. Schneiderman), in which the Court ruled to vacate
a surcharge prohibition similar to the one in Kansas law.
Neutral testimony submitted by a representative of
American Express requested consideration of two
amendments to establish clear criteria to address risks
associated with surcharging, capping surcharges at a
reasonable level, and requiring clear and conspicuous
disclosure of any surcharge. A representative of the Office of
the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC) submitted written-only
neutral testimony noting the 2021 CardX LLC v. Schmidt
decision, a case which ruled KSA 16a-2-403 as an
unconstitutional violation of CardX’s freedom of speech. The
representative noted there has been confusion from the
public and merchants regarding CardX’s modification to the
applicability of the surcharge prohibition statute.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, the Departments of Education, Labor,
and Revenue and the OSBC indicate the bill would have no
fiscal effect. The Kansas Association of Counties states the
bill would allow counties to offset fees charged for credit and
debit card processing.
Uniform Consumer Credit Code; surcharge prohibition repeal; credit and debit card
transactions
2- 2133