Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3395 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R23121 SRA-D
2	2	By: Capriglione H.B. No. 3395
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3395:
4	4	By: Bhojani C.S.H.B. No. 3395
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the charging of swipe fees on certain electronic
10	10	payment transactions; authorizing a civil penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Title 12, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Chapter 610 to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 610. CHARGING OF SWIPE FEES
15	15	Sec. 610.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Assessment fee" means a fee, usually based on the
17	17	total amount of monthly sales, paid directly to the payment card
18	18	network for allowing a merchant to use a payment card or other
19	19	payment code or device in an electronic payment transaction.
20	20	(2) "Electronic payment transaction" means a
21	21	transaction in which a person uses a payment card or other payment
22	22	code or device issued or approved through a payment card network to
23	23	debit a deposit account or use a line of credit, whether
24	24	authorization is based on a signature, personal identification
25	25	number, or other means.
26	26	(3) "Interchange fee" means a fee charged to a
27	27	merchant for the purpose of compensating the payment card issuer
28	28	for the issuer's involvement in an electronic payment transaction.
29	29	(4) "Payment card" means a credit card, debit card,
30	30	check card, or other card that is issued to an authorized user to
31	31	purchase or obtain goods, services, money, or any other thing of
32	32	value.
33	33	(5) "Payment card issuer" means a lender, including a
34	34	financial institution, or a merchant that receives applications and
35	35	issues payment cards to individuals.
36	36	(6) "Payment card network" means an entity that
37	37	directly, or through a licensed member, processor, or agent,
38	38	provides the proprietary services, infrastructure, and software
39	39	that route information and data to conduct debit card or credit card
40	40	transaction authorization, clearance, and settlement, and that an
41	41	entity uses in order to accept as a form of payment a brand of debit
42	42	card, credit card, or other device that may be used to carry out
43	43	debit or credit transactions.
44	44	(7) "State or local tax" includes a tax imposed by this
45	45	state or a unit of local government of this state, including the
46	46	sales, excise, and use tax, motor fuels tax, hotel occupancy tax,
47	47	mixed beverage sales tax, and tax imposed on the rental of a motor
48	48	vehicle, other than a tax returned to a taxpayer in the form of a
49	49	deduction or discount under Section 151.423 or 151.424, Tax Code.
50	50	(8) "Swipe fee" means the interchange fee and, if
51	51	applicable, the assessment fee.
52	52	Sec. 610.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
53	53	electronic payment transactions conducted by a merchant that is a
54	54	small business as defined by the United States Small Business
55	55	Administration on September 1, 2023.
56	56	Sec. 610.003. EXCLUSION OF STATE OR LOCAL TAXES FROM SWIPE
57	57	FEES; MERCHANT DEDUCTION OR REBATE. (a) The amount of state or
58	58	local tax that is calculated as a percentage of the amount of an
59	59	electronic payment transaction and listed separately on a payment
60	60	invoice or other demand for payment must be excluded from the total
61	61	amount on which a swipe fee is charged for that transaction.
62	62	(b) A payment card network shall with respect to each form
63	63	or type of electronic payment transaction:
64	64	(1) deduct the amount of state or local tax imposed
65	65	from the calculation of swipe fees attributable to the transaction
66	66	at the time of settlement; or
67	67	(2) rebate the merchant an amount equal to the amount
68	68	of swipe fees attributable to the state or local tax imposed on the
69	69	transaction.
70	70	(c) A deduction or, subject to Subsection (d), a rebate
71	71	under this section must occur at the time of settlement when the
72	72	merchant is able to capture and transmit state or local tax or fee
73	73	amounts relevant to the sale at the time of sale as part of the
74	74	transaction finalization.
75	75	(d) If a payment card network does not capture or transmit
76	76	tax or fee amounts relevant to a sale at the time of sale under
77	77	Subsection (c), a merchant may, not later than the 180th day after
78	78	the date of the sale, submit to the payment card network a request
79	79	for a rebate under Subsection (b)(2) together with proof of the tax
80	80	or fee amounts collected on the sale subject to a swipe fee. The
81	81	payment card network must accept a copy of filed tax returns or
82	82	sales data provided by the merchant as proof of the tax or fee
83	83	amounts collected on the sale. Not later than the 30th day after
84	84	the date a payment card network receives proof of the tax or fee
85	85	amounts collected on the sale from a merchant under this
86	86	subsection, the payment card network shall, in accordance with
87	87	Subsection (b)(2), rebate the merchant an amount equal to the
88	88	amount of swipe fees attributable to the state or local tax imposed
89	89	on the sale.
90	90	Sec. 610.004. CIVIL PENALTY; RESTITUTION. (a) A person who
91	91	violates this chapter is liable to this state for a civil penalty in
92	92	an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each violation.
93	93	(b) The attorney general may bring an action to:
94	94	(1) recover the civil penalty imposed under this
95	95	section; or
96	96	(2) obtain a temporary or permanent injunction to
97	97	restrain the violation.
98	98	(c) An action under this section may be brought in a
99	99	district court in:
100	100	(1) Travis County; or
101	101	(2) a county in which any part of the violation occurs.
102	102	(d) The attorney general shall deposit a civil penalty
103	103	collected under this section in the state treasury to the credit of
104	104	the general revenue fund.
105	105	(e) A person who violates this chapter shall refund a
106	106	merchant any swipe fees charged in violation of this chapter.
107	107	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.