New York Assembly Bill A04796 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4796--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 23, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- reported and referred to the Committee on Rules -- Rules Committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules 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: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 396-z of the general business law 2 is amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows: 3 (m) "Vehicle cost recovery fee" means the allowable recovery, pursuant 4 to this section, by a rental vehicle company from its renters for the 5 actual costs incurred to title, register, plate and inspect rental vehi- 6 cles in the state and which fee shall be determined initially by a 7 rental vehicle company's good faith estimate of the rental vehicle 8 company's daily charge to recover its actual total annual motor vehicle 9 titling, registration, plating and inspection costs, and thereafter by 10 an internal audit of the preceding year's actual costs conducted by the 11 rental vehicle company from adjusting the expense level during a calen- 12 dar year to more closely reflect actual costs incurred. If the total 13 amount of the vehicle cost recovery fees collected by a rental vehicle 14 company under this section in any calendar year exceeds the car rental 15 company's actual costs to license, title, register, and plate motor 16 vehicles and have the same inspected for that calendar year, the car 17 rental company may retain the excess amount, and adjust the estimated 18 average per vehicle titling, licensing, plating, inspecting and regis- 19 tration charge for the following calendar year by a corresponding 20 amount. Each such audit shall be retained for a period of not less than 21 five years, and shall be made available to the department of state, 22 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. LBD09218-02-3 
 A. 4796--A 2 1 § 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 10 of section 396-z of the 2 general business law, as amended by chapter 109 of the laws of 2018, are 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (a) A rental vehicle company shall not charge in addition to the 5 rental rate, taxes, and mileage charge, if any, any fee which must be 6 paid as a condition of renting the vehicle, such as, but not limited to, 7 required fuel surcharges, each of which shall be separately stated on 8 the rental agreement. In addition, a rental vehicle company may also 9 state separately and charge, where applicable, airport fees as such term 10 is defined herein. Provided further, that a rental vehicle company may 11 also separately state the vehicle cost recovery fee as such term is 12 defined in paragraph (m) of subdivision one of this section. 13 (b) In addition to the rental rate, taxes, applicable airport fees, 14 vehicle cost recovery fee, and mileage charge, if any, a rental vehicle 15 company may charge for an item or service provided in connection with a 16 particular rental transaction if the renter could have avoided incurring 17 the charge by not choosing to obtain or utilize the optional item or 18 service, such as, but not limited to, optional accessories or services 19 requested by the renter, service charges incident to the renter's 20 optional return of the vehicle to a location other than the location 21 where the vehicle was rented, and charges for refueling the vehicle with 22 as much fuel as was in the fuel tank at the beginning of the rental. 23 § 3. Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize or require a 24 rental vehicle company to charge for incurred costs that were not 25 authorized pursuant to section 396-z of the general business law prior 26 to the effective date of this act. 27 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 28 have become a law, provided that the amendments to section 396-z of the 29 general business law made by sections one and two of this act shall not 30 affect the expiration of such section and shall be deemed to expire 31 therewith.