HB 188-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2005 SESSION
05/09
HOUSE BILL 188-FN
AN ACT restricting the amount of account information on credit card receipts.
SPONSORS: Rep. Dickinson, Carr 1; Rep. Phinizy, Sull 5; Rep. Merrow, Carr 3; Rep. M. Smith, Straf 7; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Sen. Kenney, Dist 3; Sen. Estabrook, Dist 21
This bill prohibits sellers from printing more than the last 5 digits of the account number or the expiration date on credit card receipts. The prohibition does not apply to receipts that are handwritten or created by an imprint of the card.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05-0065
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT restricting the amount of account information on credit card receipts.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Prohibited Credit Card Practices. Amend the title of RSA 358-N to read as follows:
CHAPTER 358-N
PROHIBITED CREDIT CARD PRACTICES [IN TRAVEL SERVICES]
2 Prohibited Credit Card Practices; Definition of Credit Card; Debit Card Added. Amend RSA 358-N:1, I to read as follows:
I. “Credit card” means any instrument, whether known as a credit card, credit plate, charge plate, debit card, or by any other name, which purports to evidence an undertaking to pay for service rendered or furnished to or upon the order of a designated person or bearer.
3 Exemption From Prohibited Practices in Travel Services; Reference Change. Amend RSA 358-N:4 to read as follows:
358-N:4 Exemption. [This chapter] RSA 358-N:2 shall not apply to scheduled airlines.
4 New Subdivision; Restrictions on Credit Card Receipts. Amend RSA 358-N by inserting after section 4 the following new subdivision:
Restrictions on Credit Card Receipts
358-N:5 Restrictions on Credit Card Receipts.
I. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person who accepts credit cards in exchange for goods or services shall not print more than the last 5 digits of the account number or the expiration date on any receipt provided to the cardholder or retained by the issuing party.
II. This section applies only to receipts that are electronically printed and does not apply to transactions in which the sole means of recording the credit card number is by handwriting or by an imprint or copy of the credit card.
358-N:6 Penalty. A violation of RSA 358-N:5 is a misdemeanor.
5 Applicability. Section 4 of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2006 for any person who begins accepting payment by credit card on or after January 1, 2006. Section 4 of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2007 for any person who began accepting payment by credit card before January 1, 2006.
6 Effective Date.
I. Section 4 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 5 of this act.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2006.
LBAO
05-0065
12/27/04
HB 188-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT restricting the amount of account information on credit card receipts.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, and Association of Counties state this bill will increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2006 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill amends RSA 358-N, which deals with prohibited credit card practices, to bring debit cards within the chapter and to, with some exceptions, prohibit merchants from printing more than the last five digits of an account number on an electronic receipt. Violation of the proposed section is an unspecified misdemeanor. The Branch is unable to predict the number of prosecutions that will be brought pursuant to the proposed statute. On the assumption that the proposed statute will result in merchant compliance so that few, if any, cases will be brought under it, the fiscal impact to the judicial branch will be minimal. The Branch states that any fiscal impact will result in increased delays in the processing of other cases.
The Judicial Council assumes that any cases arising from the enactment of this bill for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable will, in the first instance, be handled by the public defender or contract attorney who accepts these cases on a fixed fee basis of $250 per misdemeanor charged. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60, with a fee cap of $1,000 will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or “services other than counsel” are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. Any charge within the criminal justice system, committed by a juvenile, will be compensated within the flat fee contract system of $250 per case through disposition, plus $187.50 for each and every review hearing following disposition. Assigned counsel will be at the $60 per hour rate with a fee cap of $1,200. The fee cap may be waived upon motion filed with the court and approved in advance. Any case may also result in appeals to either the Superior Court or Supreme Court which would have a cost implication for Indigent Defense expenditures made by the State. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases which
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may result from the passage of this bill, and is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Department of Justice states this bill will impact the Department by increasing the number of consumer complaints. Complaints would be processed and addressed by paralegals and attorneys in the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau. The increase in complaints would require the hiring of one additional paralegal staff member, and result in two additional prosecutions per year. This bill will impact attorney and paralegal time by 5% each for each prosecution. Assuming benefits of 40% of salary, the salary and benefit cost for a new paralegal would total $40,022 in FY 2006, $41,687 in FY 2007, $43,543 in FY 2008, and $45,373 in FY 2009. The impact of a 5% increase in attorney and paralegal time would total $4,235 and $2,318, respectively, in FY 2006 and each year thereafter. The Department estimates the total fiscal impact at $46,575 in FY 2006, $48,240 in FY 2007, $50,096 in FY 2008, and $51,926 in FY 2009.
The Association of Counties states to the extent individuals are prosecuted, the county may incur the cost of pre-trial detainment at the county department of corrections, as well as the cost of sentenced inmates under the new law. The average annual cost for counties to incarcerate inmates is $21,633.55. The Association states the total exposure to the counties would be dependent on the number of individuals convicted and sentenced under the new law, which cannot be determined at this time.