Assembly Bill A7138

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Enacts the "Consumer and Small business Protection Act"

download bill text pdf

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Current Bill Status - In Assembly Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2023-A7138 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Assembly Rules
Law Section:
General Business Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §349, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A9824
2019-2020: A679
2021-2022: A2495

2023-A7138 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "Consumer and Small business Protection Act"; relates to standing for persons affected by prohibited or unlawful business practices; expands prohibited acts to include unfair, deceptive or abusive acts.

2023-A7138 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7138
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 11, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  WEINSTEIN  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation  to  enacting  the
   "Consumer and Small business Protection Act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as  the  "Consumer
 and Small business Protection Act (CSPA)".
   §  2.  Legislative  findings and intent. The Legislature declares that
 the State has a responsibility to  protect  individuals  and  businesses
 within  the  State  from unfair and abusive business acts and practices.
 The Legislature further declares that the  State's  law,  which  guarded
 only  against  deceptive  business acts and practices, has been insuffi-
 cient to meet this responsibility and has become out of  date  as  other
 states'  laws provide far greater protections. Consumers and small busi-
 nesses have long been vulnerable to unscrupulous business practices that
 are unfair and abusive without being expressly deceptive. The State must
 not allow bad actors to peddle predatory products and services  as  long
 as  they  are clever enough not to get caught in a lie. To that end, and
 to better level the playing field for  the  State's  many  honest  busi-
 nesses,  this  legislation defines unfair and abusive acts and practices
 expansively.
   The State must also ensure that this  protection  covers  small  busi-
 nesses, which are frequent targets of predatory loans and other forms of
 exploitation,  along  with  all  consumer transactions. This legislation
 therefore rejects the limitation, imposed  by  courts,  that  prohibited
 conduct  be  "consumer oriented," have an impact on the public at large,
 or be part of a broader pattern.  Consumers  and  small  businesses  are
 entitled  to  redress  whenever they are harmed by deceptive, unfair, or
 abusive conduct.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02751-01-3
 A. 7138                             2
              

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