NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6857

Senate Bill S6857

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Enacts the "blocking illegitimate reservations and defending individual entertainment (BIRDIE) act"

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks And Recreation 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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 25, 2025	referred to cultural affairs, tourism, parks and recreation

2025-S6857 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6610
Current Committee:: Senate Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks And Recreation
Law Section:: Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law
Laws Affected:: Add §13.32, Pks & Rec L; amd §99-gg, St Fin L

2025-S6857 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "blocking illegitimate reservations and defending individual entertainment (BIRDIE) act" to prohibit third-party reservation services from listing, advertising, promoting or selling reservations for state-owned golf courses; provides monies received from penalties shall be deposited in the golf fund.

2025-S6857 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6857

SPONSOR: PALUMBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law and
the state finance law, in relation to enacting the "blocking illegit-
imate reservations and defending individual entertainment (BIRDIE) act"

 
PURPOSE:

To enact the BIRDIE Act.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Names as "The BIRDIE ACT"

Section 2. Amends the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law by
adding a new section 13.32 and sets definitions for park regions and
third-party reservation service. This section outlines what a third-par-
ty reservation service for a golf course may and may not do and that
such a service must contain a written agreement and set parameters for

such a written agreement. Establishes penalties for violation of this
act.

Section 3. Amends section 99-gg of the Finance Law by amending it to add
that the Golf Fund shall consist of money collected pursuant to section
13.32 of the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation law.  This
section also outlines what the funds may be used for.

Section 4. Establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Golfers in New York State, particularly on Long Island, are experiencing
undue difficulty getting in their tee time on many of their local golf
courses. As many clubs and courses utilize online booking services for
their customers to reserve their slot, customers are faced with diffi-
culty booking and are competing with "bots" and therefore, often are
unable to reserve and play. This is not only a phenomenon with golf
courses but with other venues and businesses as well. This bill aims to
correct this and adds amendment to the functionality of the current Golf
Fund.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall become law

2025-S6857 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6857
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 25, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism,
   Parks and Recreation
 
 AN ACT to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law  and
   the  state finance law, in relation to enacting the "blocking illegit-
   imate reservations and  defending  individual  entertainment  (BIRDIE)
   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  "blocking
 illegitimate   reservations   and   defending  individual  entertainment
 (BIRDIE) act".
   § 2. The parks, recreation and historic preservation law is amended by
 adding a new section 13.32 to read as follows:
   § 13.32 THIRD-PARTY RESERVATION SYSTEMS. 1. FOR THE PURPOSES  OF  THIS
 SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "PARK  REGIONS" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED IN SECTION
 7.01 OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (B) "THIRD-PARTY RESERVATION SERVICE" MEANS ANY ENTITY, OTHER THAN THE
 OFFICE, THAT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FACILITATES THE RESERVATION OF  GOLF
 TEE TIMES OR OTHER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 HUNTING,  THROUGH  ITS  PLATFORM,  WHETHER  AS A PRIMARY SELLER OR AS AN
 INTERMEDIARY LINKING TO OTHER BOOKING PLATFORMS THROUGH  THE  USE  OF  A
 WEBSITE,  MOBILE  APPLICATION,  OR OTHER INTERNET SERVICE. A THIRD-PARTY
 RESERVATION SERVICE SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY RESERVATION DISTRIBUTION CHAN-
 NELS THAT ARE AUTHORIZED TO DISTRIBUTE RESERVATIONS BY WAY OF A CONTRAC-
 TUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OFFICE.
   2. A  THIRD-PARTY  RESERVATION  SERVICE  SHALL  NOT  LIST,  ADVERTISE,
 PROMOTE,  OR  SELL  RESERVATIONS FOR ANY GOLF COURSE LOCATED WITHIN PARK
 REGIONS THROUGH ITS WEBSITE, MOBILE APPLICATION OR  ANY  OTHER  PLATFORM
 WITHOUT  A  WRITTEN  AGREEMENT  WITH  THE  OFFICE.  SUCH AGREEMENT SHALL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09885-02-5

 S. 6857                             2
 
 EXPLICITLY AUTHORIZE THE THIRD-PARTY SERVICE TO DISTRIBUTE  RESERVATIONS
 AND  SHALL OUTLINE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH RESERVATIONS MAY
 BE MADE AVAILABLE. ANY RESERVATION SERVICE  OPERATING  WITHOUT  SUCH  AN
 AGREEMENT SHALL BE CONSIDERED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION.
   3.  ANY  PERSON  OR  ENTITY THAT VIOLATES, OR CAUSES ANOTHER PERSON TO
 VIOLATE, ANY PROVISION OF THIS SECTION OR ANY RULE PROMULGATED  PURSUANT
 THERETO  SHALL  BE SUBJECT TO A CIVIL PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED ONE THOUSAND
 DOLLARS FOR EACH VIOLATION.  FOR  VIOLATIONS  COMMITTED  BY  THIRD-PARTY
 RESERVATION  SERVICES,  PENALTIES SHALL ACCRUE ON A DAILY BASIS FOR EACH
 UNAUTHORIZED LISTING OF A GOLF COURSE ON  A  THIRD-PARTY  PLATFORM.  THE
 OFFICE,  OR  ANY  OTHER STATE AGENCY DESIGNATED TO ENFORCE THIS SECTION,
 SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE VIOLATIONS AND IMPOSE PENALTIES.
 A PROCEEDING TO RECOVER ANY  CIVIL  PENALTY  OR  RESTITUTION  AUTHORIZED
 PURSUANT  TO  THIS SECTION MAY BE BROUGHT WITHIN ANY AGENCY OF THE STATE
 DESIGNATED TO CONDUCT SUCH PROCEEDINGS. ANY MONEYS RECEIVED FROM  PENAL-
 TIES  IMPOSED  PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE GOLF
 FUND AS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO  SECTION  NINETY-NINE-GG  OF  THE  STATE
 FINANCE LAW.
   § 3. Section 99-gg state finance law, as added by section 2 of part MM
 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   §  99-gg.  Golf  fund.  1. Notwithstanding sections eight, eight-a and
 seventy of this chapter and any other provision of law, rule, regulation
 or practice to the contrary, there is hereby established  in  the  joint
 custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of tax and finance
 a  golf  fund,  which shall be classified by the state comptroller as an
 enterprise fund, and which shall consist of MONEYS COLLECTED PURSUANT TO
 SECTION 13.32 OF THE PARKS, RECREATION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION LAW AND
 all moneys collected from private entities and individuals for  the  use
 of  state-owned  golf  courses,  any other miscellaneous fees associated
 with the use of such golf courses, and sale of retail goods and services
 at state owned golf courses.
   2. Moneys within the golf fund shall be made available to the  commis-
 sioner  of  parks, recreation and historic preservation for services and
 expenses of the office of parks, recreation  and  historic  preservation
 relating  to  the  direct  maintenance and operation of state owned golf
 courses, and in support of the sale of  retail  goods  and  services  at
 state  owned  golf  courses.   SUCH FUNDS SHALL BE USED FOR COURSE RENO-
 VATIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO  IMPROVE-
 MENT  OF PUBLIC ACCESS WHICH SHALL INCLUDE FACILITIES COMPLIANT WITH THE
 FEDERAL AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, YOUTH GOLF  PROGRAMS,  ACQUISI-
 TION  OF NEW EQUIPMENT, TECHNOLOGY, AND AMENITIES TO ENHANCE THE GOLFING
 EXPERIENCE AND ANY OTHER IMPROVEMENTS NECESSARY TO PROMOTE THE LONG-TERM
 SUSTAINABILITY AND QUALITY OF STATE-OWNED GOLF COURSES.
   § 4. This act shall take effect one year 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
 date.

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