California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act.

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary does not provide details about specific exemptions or exceptions to selling reservations at a higher price, leaving this as an open question.

California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act

The California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act prohibits selling or transferring restaurant reservations for more than the original price and increases font size requirements for certain disclosures on websites.

What This Bill Does

• Prohibits a person from selling or transferring, or facilitating the sale or transfer of, a reservation for a restaurant for an amount higher than that person paid to acquire the reservation.
• Allows the Attorney General, county counsel, city attorneys, and individuals harmed by violations to recover civil penalties.
• Creates in the State Treasury the California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act Fund into which any civil penalty recovered by the Attorney General would be deposited.
• Increases the font size requirement from 14-point to 16-point for important disclosures on websites.

Who It Names or Affects

• Restaurants and people who make reservations at them.
• Online businesses that sell or transfer restaurant reservations.
• Law enforcement agencies like the Attorney General, county counsel, and city attorneys.

Terms To Know

Reservation

A booking made in advance for a table or service at a restaurant.

Civil Penalty

Money that someone has to pay as punishment for breaking the law.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how recovered civil penalties will be used beyond funding purposes of the act.
• It is unclear if there are specific exemptions or exceptions to selling reservations at a higher price.

Official Summary Text

AB 1640, as amended, Stefani.
Food delivery platforms.
California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act.
Existing law regulates various businesses to preserve and regulate competition and prohibit unfair practices, among other purposes. Existing law imposes various business practice restrictions on a food delivery platform, defined as an online business that acts as an intermediary between consumers and multiple food facilities to submit food orders from a consumer to a participating food facility, and to arrange for the delivery of the order from the food facility to the consumer. Existing law prohibits a food delivery platform from arranging the delivery of an order from a food facility without first obtaining an agreement with the food facility expressly authorizing the platform to take orders and deliver meals, as prescribed.
This bill would
prohibit a person from selling or transferring, or facilitating the sale or transfer of, a reservation for a restaurant, as defined, for an amount higher than that person paid to acquire the reservation, except as specified.
The bill would authorize the Attorney General, any county counsel or city attorney, and an individual or entity who suffers actual harm as a result of a violation of the act to recover specified civil penalties. The bill would also create in the State Treasury the California Restaurant Reservation AntiPiracy Act Fund into which any civil penalty recovered by the Attorney General pursuant to the act would be deposited and would make the moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of the act.
Existing law imposes various business practice restrictions on a food delivery platform, defined as an online business that acts as an intermediary between consumers and multiple food facilities to submit food and beverage orders from a consumer to a participating food facility, and to arrange for, or to complete, the delivery of the order from the food facility to the consumer.
Existing law requires a listing website, as defined, to provide specified information in a clear and conspicuous manner, including a requirement that the website clearly and conspicuously disclose if an order placed through a telephone number or other interface on the listing website’s internet website or application may result in a fee, commission, or cost paid to a party other than the food facility, as provided. Existing law defines “clearly and conspicuously” to mean
in a font no smaller than boldface, 14-point type, clearly separate from any other language on the page.
This bill would revise the definition of “clearly and conspicuously” to increase the type size to 16 point.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF