S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8267
I N S E N A T E
June 18, 2010
___________
Introduced by Sen. KLEIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to rental car
vehicles
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 396-z of the general business law
is amended by adding a new paragraph (k) to read as follows:
(K) "VEHICLE LICENSING RECOVERY FEE" MEANS THE DAILY FEE A RENTAL
VEHICLE COMPANY MAY CHARGE ITS CUSTOMERS WHICH SHALL REPRESENT AN AVER-
AGE PER-RENTAL DAY PORTION OF THE COMPANY'S ESTIMATED ANNUAL COSTS, AS
IMPOSED BY THE STATE, FOR THE LICENSING, TITLING, REGISTRATION AND
INSPECTION OF ITS VEHICLES IN NEW YORK. IF THE TOTAL AMOUNT RECOVERED
FROM RENTERS BY A RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY FOR VEHICLE LICENSING FEES
DURING THE CALENDAR YEAR IS DIFFERENT THAN THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY THE
RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY FOR SUCH ITEMS, THE RENTAL VEHICLE COMPANY SHALL
ADJUST ITS DAILY FEE IN THE FOLLOWING CALENDAR YEAR BY THE AMOUNT OF THE
DIFFERENCE. AS OF FEBRUARY TWENTY-EIGHTH, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN, AND
ANNUALLY EACH FEBRUARY TWENTY-EIGHTH THEREAFTER, A RENTAL VEHICLE COMPA-
NY SHALL POST INFORMATION ON ITS INTERNET WEBSITE IN AN UNDERSTANDABLE
AND READABLE FORMAT THAT SHALL SHOW A RECONCILIATION OF THE AMOUNT OF
VEHICLE LICENSING RECOVERY FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY THE RENTAL VEHICLE
COMPANY DURING THE PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR AND THE AMOUNT OF VEHICLE
LICENSING RECOVERY FEES CHARGED TO CUSTOMERS DURING THAT SAME CALENDAR
YEAR FOR RENTAL OF VEHICLES.
S 2. Subdivision 8 of section 396-z of the general business law, as
amended by chapter 731 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
follows:
8. No rental vehicle company shall advertise or quote a rental rate
that does not include all charges, except taxes or optional items and/or
services or any mileage charge, which an authorized driver must pay to
obtain a rental vehicle. Provided, however, a rental vehicle company
shall be permitted to separately quote and charge airport fees AND VEHI-
CLE LICENSING RECOVERY FEES as defined herein, which shall be in addi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14099-04-0
S. 8267 2
tion to the rental rate; and provided further that advertised rental
rates that include locations at which airport fees apply shall clearly
indicate that additional fees apply.
S 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 10 of section 396-z of the
general business law, as amended by chapter 731 of the laws of 2006, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A rental vehicle company shall not charge in addition to the
rental rate, taxes, and mileage charge, if any, any fee which must be
paid as a condition of renting the vehicle, such as, but not limited to,
required fuel surcharges, each of which shall be separately stated on
the rental agreement. In addition, a rental vehicle company may also
state separately and charge, where applicable, airport fees AND VEHICLE
LICENSING RECOVERY FEES as such [term is] TERMS ARE defined [herein] IN
THIS SECTION.
(b) In addition to the rental rate, taxes, applicable airport fees,
VEHICLE LICENSING RECOVERY FEES, and mileage charge, if any, a rental
vehicle company may charge for an item or service provided in connection
with a particular rental transaction if the renter could have avoided
incurring the charge by not choosing to obtain or utilize the optional
item or service, such as, but not limited to, optional accessories or
services requested by the renter, service charges incident to the
renter's optional return of the vehicle to a location other than the
location where the vehicle was rented, and charges for refueling the
vehicle with as much fuel as was in the fuel tank at the beginning of
the rental.
S 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to section 396-z of the general business law made by
sections one, two and three of this act shall not affect the repeal of
such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.