NY State Senate Bill 2023-S7851

Senate Bill S7851

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to deletion of a consumer's financial information after cancellation of an automatic renewal or continuous service

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to consumer protection

2023-S7851 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§527 & 527-a, Gen Bus L

2023-S7851 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires a business to delete a consumer's financial information after cancellation of an automatic renewal or continuous service, unless such consumer has affirmatively consented to retention of such financial information; requires such business to notify such consumer of such deletion.

2023-S7851 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7851

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to deletion of a
consumer's financial information after cancellation of an automatic
renewal or continuous service

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to provide affirmative confirmation that a
consumer's payment method information is removed from a service provid-
ers' records after a request to discontinue the service, or the automat-
ic payment for a service, is made by the consumer.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The bill adds a new subdivision 6 to section 527 of the general business
law to define "financial information".

A new subdivision 3-a is added to section 527-a of the general business

law to provide that a consumer's request to cancel an automatic renewal
or continuous service shall result in the deletion of any and all
payment methods held by the business unless retaining such information
is expressly affirmed by the consumer. Such payment information records
shall be deleted within 14 days of request to cancel the service or the
automatic payment or the service.  Additionally, the consumer shall be
notified by mail or electronic means the date upon which the payment
information records were deleted with details about each form of payment
ever authorized or used by the service as a form of payment.

An exception is provided where a business is required to retain a
consumer's financial information due to state or federal law or regu-
lation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Consumers should be confident that cancellation of a service will also
result in the deletion of their payment methods at the time of cancella-
tion; however, it is a legal and common practice for businesses to
retain a customer's financial information after the cancellation of a
service. In fact, some services will admit that they retain payment
method records in a previous customer's "profile" unless specific
request for profile deletion is made by the customer.  The practice of
retaining former customers' financial data without their knowledge can
pose unnecessary financial risk to the customer should the business's
financial data ever be breached or hacked.  Customer's credit card and
banking information, along with their personal data, are vulnerable to
misuse in this way even after a consumer has ceased receiving services
from the business. This bill will restore control of customers' finan-
cial data back in the customers' hands.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days after enactment

2023-S7851 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7851
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 3, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to deletion  of  a
   consumer's  financial  information  after cancellation of an automatic
   renewal or continuous service
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  527  of  the  general business law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
   6. "FINANCIAL INFORMATION" MEANS ANY INFORMATION RELATING TO A CONSUM-
 ER'S CREDIT CARD, DEBIT CARD, OR ACCOUNT WITH A THIRD PARTY  HELD  BY  A
 BUSINESS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CHARGING SUCH CONSUMER.
   §  2. Section 527-a of the general business law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
   3-A. A. UPON RECEIVING A REQUEST FROM A CONSUMER TO CANCEL AN AUTOMAT-
 IC RENEWAL OR CONTINUOUS SERVICE, A BUSINESS SHALL DELETE ALL RECORDS OF
 SUCH CONSUMER'S FINANCIAL INFORMATION HELD BY SUCH BUSINESS UNLESS  SUCH
 BUSINESS HAS OBTAINED SUCH CONSUMER'S AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT TO RETAIN SUCH
 FINANCIAL  INFORMATION  FOR  FUTURE PURCHASES. IF SUCH BUSINESS DOES NOT
 OBTAIN SUCH AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT, SUCH BUSINESS SHALL:
   (I) DELETE ALL RECORDS OF SUCH CONSUMER'S FINANCIAL INFORMATION WITHIN
 FOURTEEN DAYS OF RECEIPT  OF  SUCH  REQUEST  TO  CANCEL  SUCH  AUTOMATIC
 RENEWAL OR CONTINUOUS SERVICE; AND
   (II)  NOTIFY SUCH CONSUMER BY MAIL OR ELECTRONIC MAIL OF THE DATE SUCH
 RECORDS WERE DELETED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS SUBDIVISION,  AND
 OF EACH OF SUCH CONSUMER'S CREDIT CARDS, DEBIT CARDS, OR ACCOUNTS WITH A
 THIRD  PARTY  FOR  WHICH SUCH RECORDS WERE DELETED, WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF
 SUCH DELETION.
   B. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY WHERE A BUSINESS
 IS OTHERWISE REQUIRED  TO  RETAIN  A  CONSUMER'S  FINANCIAL  INFORMATION
 PURSUANT TO STATE OR FEDERAL LAW, RULE OR REGULATION.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such effective date.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13785-02-3

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