Bans unauthorized restaurant reservation arrangement by third-party reservation service.

S1197

SENATE, No. 1197

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

Senator� JOSEPH A. LAGANA

District 38 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

���� Bans unauthorized restaurant reservation arrangement
by third-party reservation service.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

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 advertise, list, 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.���� (1) 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 $500 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) Any person charged fees by
a third-party restaurant reservation service that with respect to a reservation
advertised, listed, promoted, or sold in violation of this act, or food service
establishment which a third-party restaurant reservation service listed,
advertised, promoted, or sold a reservation in violation of this act, may bring
a civil action in the Superior Court for:

���� (a) injunctive relief to
restrain or enjoin any activity in violation of this act;

���� (b) actual damages not to
exceed the total fees collected by the third-party restaurant reservation
service in violation of this act;

���� (c) attorney's fees and costs;
and

���� (d) any other remedy as the
court may deem appropriate.

���� (3) Any action alleging a
violation of this act shall be brought within one year after the alleged
violation of this act occurs.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of
enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill bans the
unauthorized arrangement by a third-party restaurant reservation service to
advertise, list, promote, or sell 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 $500 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. Under the bill, any person charged fees by
a third-party restaurant reservation service that with respect to a reservation
advertised, listed, promoted, or sold in violation of the bill, or food service
establishment which a third-party restaurant reservation service advertised,
listed, promoted, or sold a reservation in violation of the bill�s provisions,
may bring a civil action in the Superior Court for:

���� (a) injunctive relief to
restrain or enjoin any activity in violation of the bill;

���� (b) actual damages not to
exceed the total fees collected by the third-party restaurant reservation
service in violation of the bill;

���� (c) attorney's fees and costs;
and

���� (d) any other remedy as the
court may deem appropriate.

���� The bill provides that any action
alleging a violation of the bill is required to be brought within one year
after the alleged violation of the bill occurs.

���� This bill mirrors legislation
enacted by 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.