ASSEMBLY, No. 551

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Assemblywoman TURNER

 

 

An Act providing for the regulation of sellers of travel 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. As used in this act:

    "Director" means the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

    "Offer for sale" includes holding out, directly or indirectly, as a principal, as being able, or offering or undertaking by any means or method, to acquire or provide transportation or transportation-related services for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration from any source.

    "Person" includes an individual, partnership, corporation, joint-venture, organization or association or other legal entity, however organized.

    "Seller of travel" means any resident or nonresident person who offers for sale directly or indirectly at wholesale or retail, transportation or transportation-related services to persons in this State.

    "Transportation-related services" includes car rentals, lodging, transfers, sight-seeing tours and all other services which are reasonably related to air, sea, rail, motor coach or other medium of transportation and accommodations, except that transportation-related services shall not include services provided as a benefit of membership to members of an automobile club or other membership organization providing private motor vehicle touring information including, but not limited to, maps and trip routings, information concerning scenic routes or tourist attractions, or any other private motor vehicle touring advice.

 

    2. Every seller of travel doing business in this State shall register with the director on forms the director provides. The registration shall be renewed every two years. The seller of travel shall provide the full name and address of each business location where transportation-related services are sold to residents in the State as well as any other information regarding the ownership and operation of each business location that the director deems appropriate. The registration and renewal fees shall be established or changed by the director and shall be fixed at a level to allow for the proper administration and enforcement of this act, but shall not be fixed at a level that will raise amounts in excess of the amount estimated to be so required.

 

    3. The requirement for obtaining a registration certificate required under section 2 of this act shall not apply to:

    a. Any common carrier of passengers regulated by an agency of the federal government or employees of a carrier;

    b. Intrastate common carriers selling transportation only as defined in the applicable State or local registration or certification;

    c. Hotels, motels, or other places of public accommodation selling public accommodations;

    d. Persons involved solely in the rental, leasing or sale of transportation vehicles;

    e. Persons engaged in making travel arrangements for the employees of their own business for which no fee, commission or other valuable consideration is received, directly or indirectly, from the supplier of these travel arrangements;

    f. Persons involved solely in the rental, leasing or sale of residential property; or

    g. Publicly held corporations, their subsidiaries and divisions and the employees thereof, the voting stocks of which are traded on a recognized exchange or over the counter.

 

    4. With the application for the registration certificate required by section 2 of this act, a seller of travel shall, for each business location where transportation-related services are sold to residents in the State, maintain a bond issued by a surety authorized to transact business in this State or maintain an irrevocable letter of credit by a bank or maintain with the director securities, moneys or other security acceptable to the director to fulfill the requirements of this section. The principal sum of the bond, letter of credit, or securities, moneys or other security shall be in the amount of $50,000 for a seller of travel offering for sale interstate or international transportation or transportation-related services. If the seller of travel offers for sale only intrastate transportation or transportation related services, the amount of the bond shall be $20,000. The bond, letter of credit, or securities, moneys or other security shall be filed or deposited with the director and shall be executed to the State of New Jersey for the use of any person who, after entering into a transportation-related services contract, is damaged or suffers any loss by reason of breach of contract or bankruptcy by the seller. Any person claiming against the bond, letter of credit, or securities, moneys, or other security may maintain an action at law against the seller of travel and the surety, bank or director, as the case may be. The aggregate liability of the surety, bank, or the director to all persons for all breaches of the conditions of the bond, letter of credit, or the securities, moneys or other security held by the director shall not exceed the amount of the bond, letter of credit, or the securities, moneys or other security held by the director.

    In the case of a bond, the seller of travel shall file a copy of the bond with the director and a certificate by the surety that the surety will notify the director at least 10 days in advance of the date of any cancellation or material change in the bond.

 

    5. a. Every contract for transportation-related services shall be in writing. A copy of the written contract shall be given to the buyer at the time the buyer signs the contract.

    b. A transportation-related services contract shall specifically set forth in a conspicuous manner on the first page of the contract the buyer's total payment obligation for transportation-related services to be received pursuant to the contract.

    c. A transportation-related services contract of a seller of travel that maintains a bond, irrevocable letter of credit or securities, moneys or other security pursuant to section 4 of this act shall set forth that a bond, irrevocable letter of credit or securities, moneys or other security is filed or deposited with the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs to protect buyers of these contracts who are damaged or suffer any loss by reason of breach of contract or bankruptcy by the seller.

 

    6. a. A transportation-related services contract shall not require the execution of any note or series of notes by the buyer which, if separately negotiated, will cut off as to third parties any right of action or defense which the buyer has against the seller of travel.

    b. A right of action or defense arising out of a transportation-related services contract which the buyer has against the seller of travel shall not be cut off by assignment of the contract whether or not the assignee acquires the contract in good faith and for value.

 

    7. a. Any transportion-related services contract entered into in reliance upon any fraudulent or substantially and willfully false or misleading information, representation, notice or advertisement of the seller of travel is voidable at the option of the buyer of the contract. Any transportion-related services contract which does not comply with the applicable provisions of this act is voidable at the option of the buyer of the contract.

    b. Any waiver by the buyer of the provisions of this act is void.

 

    8. It is an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) to violate the provisions of this act.

 

    9. The director shall adopt pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

 

    10. This act shall take effect on the 120th day after enactment and shall apply to all transportation-related services contracts entered into on or after the effective date of this act.

 

 

 

Provides for the registration and regulation of sellers of travel.