Sponsored by:
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Senator JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Gopal
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits third-party restaurant reservation service from arranging unauthorized restaurant reservation with food service establishment.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning restaurant reservations and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this act:
“Food service establishment” means a place where food is provided for individual portion service directly to the consumer whether that food is provided free of charge or sold, and whether consumption occurs on or off the premises or is provided from a pushcart, stand, or vehicle.
“Third-party restaurant reservation service” means any website, mobile application, or other internet service that: offers or arranges for reserving on-premises service for a customer at a food service establishment; and that is owned and operated by a person other than the person who owns the food service establishment. A third-party restaurant reservation service shall not include any reservation distribution channels that are authorized to distribute reservations by way of a contractual relationship with either the applicable food service establishment or a contractual designee of the food service establishment who obtained reservation distribution rights directly from the food service establishment.
b. A third-party restaurant reservation service shall not list, advertise, promote, or sell reservations for a food service establishment through the website, mobile application, or other platform of the third-party restaurant reservation service without a written agreement between the third-party restaurant reservation service and the food service establishment to include reservations at the food service establishment on the website, mobile application, or other platform of the third-party restaurant reservation service.
c. Any person who violates, or causes another person to violate, a provision of this act, shall be subject to a civil penalty that shall not exceed $1,000 for each violation, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). A violation by a person under this act shall accrue on a daily basis for each day and for each food service establishment with respect to which a violation of this act was committed. The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this section.
2. This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a third-party restaurant reservation service from listing, advertising, promoting, or selling reservations for a food service establishment without a written agreement between the third-party restaurant reservation service and the food service establishment. The bill defines “food service establishment” to mean a place where food is provided for individual portion service directly to the consumer whether that food is provided free of charge or sold, and whether consumption occurs on or off the premises or is provided from a pushcart, stand, or vehicle. Under the bill, “third-party restaurant reservation service” means any website, mobile application, or other internet service that: offers or arranges for reserving on-premises service for a customer at a food service establishment; and that is owned and operated by a person other than the person who owns the food service establishment.
The bill provides that any person who violates its provisions is subject to a civil penalty that will not exceed $1,000 for each violation, and that a violation by a third-party restaurant reservation service under the bill will accrue on a daily basis for each day and for each food service establishment with respect to which a violation of the bill was committed.
This bill mirrors legislation enacted by New York and introduced in Illinois prohibiting a third-party restaurant reservation service from listing, advertising, promoting, or selling reservations for a food service establishment without a written agreement between the third-party restaurant reservation service and the food service establishment.