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HOUSE BILL 2233
By Dixie
SENATE BILL 1991
By Lamar
SB1991
010769
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4,
Chapter 3, Part 19 and Title 47, Chapter 18,
relative to consumer protection.
WHEREAS, Tennesseans are charged billions of dollars every year for junk fees added
to the costs of goods and services provided across a large swath of this State's economy,
including in banking, air travel, online ticket sales, hotel bookings, delivery services, ride
sharing, and car rentals; and
WHEREAS, junk fees obfuscate the true cost of a company's goods and services, luring
in customers and undercutting competitors by advertising deceptively low prices and slowly
adding on surcharges and fees later in the purchasing process; and
WHEREAS, these junk fees result in systematic transfers of wealth from low-information
consumers to more educated ones; and
WHEREAS, such junk fees also result in confusion around advertised prices, which
makes it harder for competitors with genuinely lower prices to compete with those who shroud
their prices with hidden junk fees, and enable tacit collusion between competitors in the form of
parallel decisions to make certain junk fees a standard part of the purchasing process; and
WHEREAS, deceptive pricing methods, acts, and practices create a confusing
marketplace for buyers, and their existence structurally harms competition; and
WHEREAS, such deceptive pricing models have also enabled the proliferation of junk
fees in this State's economy, so that consumers cannot take advertised prices at face value or
comparison shop with any efficiency; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly should take steps to address the rampant use of
deceptive pricing methods, acts, and practices, known as junk fees, in order to combat
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artificially increased prices, exacerbated inflation, and harm to competition across the
Tennessee economy; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Junk Fee Prevention Act."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
47-18-139.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Consumer" means an individual who seeks or acquires, by purchase
or lease, any goods or services for personal, family, or household purposes;
(2) "Goods":
(A) Means tangible chattels bought or leased primarily for
personal, family, or household purposes; and
(B) Includes:
(i) Consumer financial products, as that term is defined in
12 U.S.C. § 5481;
(ii) Certificates or coupons exchangeable for consumer
financial products; and
(iii) Goods that, at the time of the sale or subsequently,
are to be so affixed to real property as to become a part of real
property, whether or not they are severable from the real property;
(3) "Mandatory fee" includes:
(A) Any fee or surcharge that must be paid in order to purchase
an advertised good or service;
(B) A fee or surcharge that is not reasonably avoidable; or
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(C) A fee or surcharge for a good or service that a reasonable
consumer would expect to be included with the purchase of the
advertised good or service;
(4) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, association, or other legal entity;
(5) "Services":
(A) Means work, labor, and services bought primarily for
personal, family, or household purposes; and
(B) Includes:
(i) Consumer financial services, as that term is defined in
12 U.S.C. § 5481; and
(ii) Services furnished in connection with the sale or repair
of goods; and
(6) "Transaction":
(A) Means an agreement between a consumer and another
person, whether or not the agreement is a contract enforceable by law;
and
(B) Includes the making of, and the performance pursuant to,
such agreement.
(b) On and after July 1, 2027, a person shall not sell or lease, or attempt to sell
or lease, goods or services to a consumer using the following deceptive pricing methods,
acts, or practices as part of the transaction:
(1) Advertising or otherwise displaying the price of a good or service
without displaying the total price of the good or service, including all mandatory
fees, in a clear and conspicuous manner;
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(2) Selling a good or service, or displaying a good or service being sold
by a third party, without disclosing the portion of the purchase price that
represents a mandatory fee for the purchase in a clear and conspicuous manner
prior to accepting payment for the good or service selected;
(3) Making a false or misleading disclosure of subtotals, fees, charges, or
another component of the total price of a good or service;
(4) Presenting subtotals, fees, charges, or other components of the total
price of the good or service less prominently or in a font size that is smaller than
the font size used to present the total price of the good or service;
(5) Increasing the price of a good or service after a purchaser has
selected the good or service for purchase;
(6) Charging an excessive or unreasonable fee or surcharge for the early
termination of a contract for goods or services; and
(7) Charging a fee or surcharge for, or imposing other conditions or
requirements on, the early termination of a contract for goods or services that
was automatically renewed upon the expiration of the original contract.
(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to:
(1) Any tax, duty, or custom levied by a federal, state, or local
governmental entity;
(2) Fees covering the cost of delivery of goods, the amount of which is
based upon the delivery method selected by the purchaser, as long as the
person discloses the amount of the delivery fees prior to accepting payment; or
(3) A method, act, or practice declared to be unlawful by subsection (b) if
the person alleged to have employed or committed such method, act, or practice:
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(A) Proves that such violation resulted from a bona fide error
notwithstanding the use of reasonable procedures adopted to avoid any
such error; and
(B) Upon notice, makes an appropriate refund of the resulting
overcharge to the consumer or consumers harmed by the violation within
thirty (30) days of receipt of such notice.
(d) A violation of subsection (b) constitutes a violation of the Tennessee
Consumer Protection Act of 1977, compiled in this part. A violation of subsection (b)
constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting trade or commerce and is
subject to the penalties and remedies as provided in this part.
(e) On or before October 1, 2026, the commissioner of revenue shall develop a
public notice campaign designed to inform the public, with specific emphasis on notice to
persons most likely to be directly impacted by the pricing requirements of subsection (b),
of this section's requirements. The commissioner shall ensure that the public notice
campaign is implemented on or before January 1, 2027.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 47-18-104(b), is amended by adding
the following new subdivision:
( ) Violating § 47-18-139;
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.