Establishes no itinerant vendor shall offer for sale baby food, nonprescription drugs, cosmetics and batteries

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 § 38 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The itinerant vendor statute, which was adopted as Chapter 282, Laws of 1995, was originally enacted to curtail the sale of certain perishable, high-theft items through flea markets.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 § 38 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 nonprescription 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

2005-2006: A.5670/S.3174; 2003-2004: A.10822A/S.7138-A.

2007-2008: Passed the Senate (S.4442/A.6462-a)

Fiscal implications

None to state.

Effective date

Immediately.