New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB476 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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28	28	HOUSE BILL 476
29	29	57
30	30	TH LEGISLATURE
31	31	-
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33	33	STATE
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35	35	OF
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37	37	NEW
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39	39	MEXICO
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41	41	-
42	42	FIRST SESSION
43	43	,
44	44
45	45	2025
46	46	INTRODUCED BY
47	47	Anita Gonzales and Cristina Parajón and Art De La Cruz
48	48	AN ACT
49	49	RELATING TO TRADE PRACTICES; ENACTING THE PRICE FIXING
50	50	PROHIBITION, CONSUMER TRANSPARENCY AND TAX FAIRNESS ACT;
51	51	PROHIBITING NETWORK INTERCHANGE PRICE FIXING; PROHIBITING
52	52	INTERCHANGE FEES ON TAXES AND GRATUITIES; CREATING PENALTIES.
53	53	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
54	54	SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is
55	55	enacted to read:
56	56	"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
57	57	"Price Fixing Prohibition, Consumer Transparency and Tax
58	58	Fairness Act"."
59	59	SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is
60	60	enacted to read:
61	61	"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Price Fixing
62	62	Prohibition, Consumer Transparency and Tax Fairness Act:
63	63	.230229.1 underscored material = new
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90	90	A. "acquirer bank" means a member of a payment card
91	91	network that contracts with a merchant for the settlement of
92	92	electronic payment transactions. An acquirer bank may contract
93	93	directly with merchants or indirectly through a processor to
94	94	process electronic payment transactions;
95	95	B. "authorization" means the process through which
96	96	a merchant requests approval for an electronic payment
97	97	transaction from the issuer;
98	98	C. "clearance" means the process of transmitting
99	99	final transaction data from a merchant to an issuer for posting
100	100	to a cardholder's account and the calculation of fees and
101	101	charges, including interchange fees, that apply to the issuer
102	102	and the merchant;
103	103	D. "consumer" means a person who has been issued a
104	104	credit card or debit card or who purchases goods or services
105	105	using an electronic payment transaction or another method of
106	106	payment;
107	107	E. "covered credit card issuer" means a credit card
108	108	issuer that, together with any affiliates, had consolidated
109	109	worldwide banking and nonbanking assets, including assets of
110	110	affiliates, other than trust assets under management, of more
111	111	than eighty-five billion dollars ($85,000,000,000) at any point
112	112	during the previous calendar year;
113	113	F. "credit card" means a card, plate, coupon book
114	114	or other credit device existing for the purpose of obtaining
115	115	.230229.1
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143	143	money, property, labor or services on credit;
144	144	G. "debit card" means a card or other payment code
145	145	or device issued or approved for use through a payment card
146	146	network to debit an asset account, regardless of the purpose
147	147	for which the account is established, whether authorization is
148	148	based on a signature, a personal identification number or other
149	149	means. "Debit card" includes general-use prepaid cards, but
150	150	does not include paper checks;
151	151	H. "electronic payment transaction" means a
152	152	transaction in which a person uses a debit card, a credit card
153	153	or other payment code or device issued or approved through a
154	154	payment card network to debit a deposit account or use a line
155	155	of credit, whether authorization is based on a signature, a
156	156	personal identification number or other means;
157	157	I. "fee schedule" means a schedule, list, table,
158	158	chart or similar document or agreement, whether publicly
159	159	disclosed or not, that sets forth or fixes the amount or the
160	160	formula for determining the amount of one or more fee rates;
161	161	J. "gratuity" means a voluntary monetary
162	162	contribution to an employee from a guest, patron or customer in
163	163	connection with services rendered;
164	164	K. "interchange fee" means a fee established,
165	165	charged or received by a payment card network for the purpose
166	166	of compensating an issuer for the issuer's involvement in an
167	167	electronic payment transaction;
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196	196	L. "issuer" means a person that issues a debit card
197	197	or credit card or the issuer's agent;
198	198	M. "merchant" means a person that accepts
199	199	electronic payment transactions and collects and remits a tax;
200	200	N. "payment card network" means an entity that:
201	201	(1) directly or through licensed members,
202	202	processors or agents provides the proprietary services,
203	203	infrastructure and software to route information and data
204	204	for the purpose of conducting electronic payment transaction
205	205	authorization, clearance and settlement; and
206	206	(2) a merchant uses to accept as a form of
207	207	payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other device that
208	208	may be used to carry out electronic payment transactions;
209	209	O. "processor" means an entity that facilitates,
210	210	services, processes or manages the debit or credit
211	211	authorization, billing, transfer, payment procedures or
212	212	settlement with respect to an electronic payment transaction;
213	213	P. "settlement" means the process of transmitting
214	214	sales information to an issuing bank for collection and
215	215	reimbursement of funds to a merchant and calculating and
216	216	reporting the net transaction amount to the issuer and the
217	217	merchant for an electronic payment transaction that is cleared;
218	218	Q. "tax" means the gross receipts tax and a local
219	219	option gross receipts tax imposed by a municipality or county;
220	220	and
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249	249	R. "tax documentation" means documentation
250	250	sufficient for a payment card network to determine the total
251	251	amount of an electronic payment transaction and the tax or
252	252	gratuity amount of the transaction. Tax documentation may be
253	253	related to a single electronic payment transaction or multiple
254	254	electronic payment transactions aggregated over a period of
255	255	time. Tax documentation may include invoices, receipts,
256	256	journals, ledgers and tax returns filed with the taxation and
257	257	revenue department or local taxing authorities."
258	258	SECTION 3. A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is
259	259	enacted to read:
260	260	"[NEW MATERIAL] PROHIBITION ON NETWORK INTERCHANGE PRICE
261	261	FIXING--OTHER UNFAIR CREDIT CARD PRACTICES.--
262	262	A. It is unlawful for a payment card network to
263	263	directly, or indirectly through an agent, a processor, a
264	264	contract, a requirement, a condition, a penalty, a
265	265	technological specification, an inducement or otherwise:
266	266	(1) fix or conspire to fix an interchange fee
267	267	with, or on behalf of, another covered credit card issuer or
268	268	payment card network;
269	269	(2) require a person to accept as payment a
270	270	credit card issued by a covered credit card issuer if the
271	271	person accepts as payment other credit cards that are enabled
272	272	for processing over the payment card network;
273	273	(3) charge a consumer or a merchant a fee or
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302	302	assessment due to a disputed credit card transaction unless a
303	303	finding of fact concludes that the consumer or merchant is
304	304	responsible for the disputed transaction and the consumer or
305	305	merchant is provided written notification of the finding of
306	306	fact; or
307	307	(4) impose a penalty on a merchant based upon
308	308	the way the merchant lawfully sets prices for goods or
309	309	services.
310	310	B. It is unlawful for a covered credit card issuer
311	311	to directly, or indirectly through an agent, processor,
312	312	contract, requirement, condition, penalty, inducement,
313	313	technological specification or otherwise:
314	314	(1) fix or conspire to fix an interchange fee
315	315	with or on behalf of another covered credit card issuer or
316	316	payment card network;
317	317	(2) receive or charge an interchange fee for a
318	318	credit card transaction in an amount that is included on or
319	319	determined by a fee schedule that:
320	320	(a) has been fixed, established or put
321	321	forward by a payment card network; or
322	322	(b) the covered credit card issuer knows
323	323	or reasonably should know is being used in the same calendar
324	324	year by another covered card issuer to determine the amount of
325	325	an interchange fee with respect to a credit card transaction
326	326	that the other covered credit card issuer receives or charges;
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355	355	(3) on or after one hundred eighty days after
356	356	the effective date of the Price Fixing Prohibition, Consumer
357	357	Transparency and Tax Fairness Act, issue a monthly statement to
358	358	a consumer who has been issued a credit card by the covered
359	359	credit card issuer without disclosing in a clear and
360	360	conspicuous manner for each credit card transaction listed in
361	361	the monthly statement:
362	362	(a) whether interchange fees were
363	363	charged on the credit card transaction; and
364	364	(b) the amount charged for each
365	365	interchange fee charged on each credit card transaction;
366	366	(4) charge a consumer or a merchant a fee or
367	367	assessment due to a disputed credit card transaction unless a
368	368	finding of fact concludes that the consumer or merchant is
369	369	responsible for the disputed transaction and the consumer or
370	370	merchant is provided written notification of the finding of
371	371	fact; or
372	372	(5) prohibit or penalize a merchant based upon
373	373	the way the merchant lawfully sets prices for goods or
374	374	services."
375	375	SECTION 4. A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is
376	376	enacted to read:
377	377	"[NEW MATERIAL] INTERCHANGE FEES ON TAXES AND GRATUITIES
378	378	PROHIBITED.--
379	379	A. An issuer, payment card network, acquirer bank
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408	408	or processor shall not receive or charge a merchant an
409	409	interchange fee on the tax amount or gratuity of an electronic
410	410	payment transaction if the merchant informs the acquirer bank
411	411	or its designee of the tax or gratuity amount as part of the
412	412	authorization or settlement process for the electronic payment
413	413	transaction. A merchant shall transmit the tax or gratuity
414	414	amount data as part of the authorization or settlement process
415	415	to avoid being charged interchange fees on the tax or gratuity
416	416	amount of an electronic payment transaction.
417	417	B. A merchant that does not transmit the tax or
418	418	gratuity amount data in accordance with this section may submit
419	419	documentation for the electronic payment transaction to the
420	420	acquirer bank or its designee no later than one hundred eighty
421	421	days after the date of the electronic payment transaction and,
422	422	within thirty days after the merchant submits the necessary
423	423	documentation, the issuer shall credit to the merchant the
424	424	amount of interchange fees charged on the tax or gratuity
425	425	amount of the electronic payment transaction.
426	426	C. Nothing in this section creates liability for a
427	427	payment card network regarding the accuracy of the tax or
428	428	gratuity data reported by the merchant.
429	429	D. It is unlawful for an issuer, payment card
430	430	network, acquirer bank or processor to alter or manipulate the
431	431	computation and imposition of interchange fees by increasing
432	432	the rate or amount of the fees applicable to or imposed on the
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461	461	portion of a credit or debit card transaction not attributable
462	462	to taxes or gratuities in order to circumvent the effect of
463	463	this section."
464	464	SECTION 5. A new section of Chapter 57 NMSA 1978 is
465	465	enacted to read:
466	466	"[NEW MATERIAL] PENALTIES.--
467	467	A. The attorney general may file suit to seek
468	468	injunctive relief and, if appropriate, collect a civil penalty
469	469	from a covered credit card issuer or payment card network that
470	470	the attorney general believes has violated any of the
471	471	prohibitions in Sections 3 and 4 of the Price Fixing
472	472	Prohibition, Consumer Transparency and Tax Fairness Act.
473	473	B. An issuer, payment card network, acquirer bank,
474	474	processor or other designated entity that has received tax or
475	475	gratuity amount data from a merchant and violates Section 4 of
476	476	the Price Fixing Prohibition, Consumer Transparency and Tax
477	477	Fairness Act is subject to a civil penalty of one thousand
478	478	dollars ($1,000) per electronic payment transaction conducted
479	479	in violation of the Price Fixing Prohibition, Consumer
480	480	Transparency and Tax Fairness Act, and the issuer shall refund
481	481	to the merchant the interchange fee calculated on the tax or
482	482	gratuity amount relative to the electronic payment transaction.
483	483	C. A person, other than a merchant, involved in
484	484	facilitating or processing an electronic payment transaction,
485	485	including an issuer, payment card network, an acquirer bank,
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514	514	processor or other designated entity, shall not distribute,
515	515	exchange, transfer, disseminate or use the electronic payment
516	516	transaction data except to facilitate or process the electronic
517	517	payment transaction; to monitor for, detect or prevent fraud;
518	518	to support loyalty, rewards or promotional offerings; to tailor
519	519	products and services to serve customer needs; or as required
520	520	by law. A violation of this subsection constitutes a violation
521	521	of the Unfair Practices Act."
522	522	SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY.--If a part or application of the
523	523	Price Fixing Prohibition, Consumer Transparency and Tax
524	524	Fairness Act is held invalid, the remainder or its application
525	525	to other situations or persons shall not be affected.
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