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A2078Assembly2019-2020 SessionSame asS4019

No Lease Fees After Death

Official title

“Relates to early termination of motor vehicle lease contracts”

Sponsor Aileen GuntherAD-100Affects Public Safety & Consumer Affairs
Status
Assembly Floor Calendar
Impact
4/10
Low
Outcome
Companion signed

Bill progress

Signed via S4019

What's happening

This bill prohibits early termination fees on service contracts and motor vehicle leases if the customer has died before the contract ends.

Why it matters

  1. Protects families and estates from unexpected financial burdens. by ensuring that no early termination fees can be charged if a customer or lessee dies before the contract ends, preventing companies from seeking payment from survivors.

  2. Applies across a wide range of common services. including phone, television, internet, energy, water, and motor vehicle leases—so the impact is broad and relevant to most households.

  3. Requires clear disclosure in contracts for motor vehicle leases. so consumers know upfront that their estate will not be responsible for early termination fees in the event of their death, improving transparency and peace of mind.

  4. Applies only to contracts entered into, renewed, or amended after the law takes effect,. meaning existing contracts are not affected but future agreements will include these new protections.

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Who cares

Headline styles

No Lease Fees After Death

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Aileen Gunther

Assembly Member · Assembly District 100

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Substituted by S4019A
  2. Ordered to third reading rules cal.330
  3. Rules report cal.330
  4. Reported
  5. Reported referred to rules
  6. Print number 2078a
  7. Amend and recommit to consumer affairs and protection
  8. Referred to consumer affairs and protection

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

S4019Senate

No Lease Fees After Death

Signed by Governor · Sponsor Kevin Thomas

Impact 4 · LowSigned into law

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

2078--A

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 22, 2019

Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the general business law and the personal property law, in relation to early termination of motor vehicle lease contracts

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 399-zzzz of the general business law, as added by chapter 331 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:

1. Subject to federal law and regulation[,]:

a. no provider of telephone, cellular telephone, television, internet, energy, or water services shall impose a fee for termination or early cancellation of a service contract in the event the customer has deceased before the end of such contract; and

b. a retail lessee, as defined in section three hundred thirty-one of the personal property law, shall not be liable for charges for the early termination of a retail lease agreement of a motor vehicle if he or she has deceased before the end of such lease.

§ 2. Paragraphs (i), (j) and (k) of subdivision 5 of section 337 of the personal property law are relettered paragraphs (j), (k) and (l) and a new paragraph (i) is added to read as follows:

(i) A statement in at least eight-point bold type stating that the lessee shall not be liable for an early termination fee if he or she has deceased before the end of the lease;

§ 3. Section 341 of the personal property law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:

4. There shall be no early termination liability to the lessee if he or she has deceased before the end of such lease.

§ 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to all leases entered into, renewed, modified or amended on or after such effective date.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD01695-02-9

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.