BILL NUMBER:S743

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the general business law, in relation to itinerant vendors

PURPOSE:
To clarify which products may not be sold pursuant to § 3B of the
General Business Law, so as to make its provisions more enforceable.
Specifically, the bill establishes that no itinerant vendor, except
for a manufacturer, an authorized manufacturer's representative, or
an authorized distributor, shall offer for sale baby food,
non-prescription drugs, cosmetics, or batteries.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1 - Amends § 38 of the General Business Law to specifically define the
following items -- baby food, non-prescription drugs, cosmetics, and
batteries -- as products that may not be sold in flea markets unless
sold by a manufacturer, an authorized manufacturer's representative,
or an authorized distributor.

§ 2 - Effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
The itinerant vendor statute, which was adopted as Chapter 2B2, Laws
              

of 1995, was originally enacted to curtail the sale of certain
perishable, high-theft items through flea markets. The 1995 law
focused on baby foods and over-the-counter drugs, as these were items
that professional thieves were targeting to resell through flea
markets and were products that were compromised when exposed to
sunlight and heat.

The need to tighten the definitions in General Business Law § 3B were
brought to light when law enforcement officials in central New York
encountered difficulties in halting the sale of stolen,
non-prescription drugs because of the ambiguous definitions contained
in the current law.
The proposed bill will tighten the current statute by redefining baby
foods and non-prescription drugs. It will further expand the statute
to prevent the sale of cosmetics and batteries by itinerant vendors,
as these products have become high-theft items among those engaged in
organized retail theft and because many cosmetics are similarly
affected by exposure to sunlight and heat and thereby pose a health
risk.

The illegal activity this bill aims to thwart differs from
shoplifting in that shoplifters typically steal single items for
their own use whereas this bill addresses the multiple theft of
products by career criminals who steal primarily to sell the stolen
goods.  These crimes are often committed to support other illegal
activity involving drug use.
Baby foods, non-prescription drugs, cosmetics and batteries are
attractive to these criminals because they are small, easily
concealed, and relatively expensive items.  Prohibiting the sale
of these products in flea markets will close an important outlet


to these criminals, thereby making their theft less desirable.
The public health concerns addressed by this bill and the need to
support law enforcement efforts warrant passage of this measure.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2011-12:   Passed the Senate (S. 525A/A.5345A)
2010:      Reported to Codes (S.39/A.11029)
2009:      Referred to Consumer Protection (S.39/A.11029)
2007-08:   Passed Senate (S.4442/A.6462A)
2005-06:   A.5670/S.3174
2003-04:   A.10822A/S.7128A

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.