SB 82 to prohibit certain deceptive acts and practices...
ENTITLED, An Act
to prohibit certain deceptive acts and practices with regard to lodging
establishments and campgrounds and to require that certain records be kept.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section
1.
That
§
37-24-6
be amended to read as follows:
37-24-6.
It is a deceptive act or practice for any person to:
(1)
Knowingly and intentionally act, use, or employ any deceptive act or practice, fraud, false
pretense, false promises, or misrepresentation or to conceal, suppress, or omit any
material fact in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise, regardless
of whether any person has in fact been mislead, deceived, or damaged thereby;
(2)
Advertise price reductions without satisfying one of the following:
(a)
Including in the advertisement the specific basis for the claim of a price reduction;
or
(b)
Offering the merchandise for sale at the higher price from which the reduction is
taken for at least seven consecutive business days during the sixty-day period prior
to the advertisement.
Any person advertising consumer property or services in this state, which advertisements
contain representations or statements as to any type of savings claim, including reduced
price claims and price comparison value claims, shall maintain reasonable records for a
period of two years from the date of sale and advertisement, which records shall disclose
the factual basis for such representations or statements and from which the validity of any
such claim be established. However, these reasonable record provisions do not apply to
the sale of any merchandise which:
(a)
Is of a class of merchandise that is routinely advertised on at least a weekly basis
in newspapers, shopping tabloids, or similar publications; and
(b)
Has a sales price before price reduction that is less than fifteen dollars per item;
(3)
Represent a sale of merchandise at reduced rates due to the cessation of business
operations and after the date of the first advertisement remain in business under the same,
or substantially the same, ownership or trade name, or continue to offer for sale the same
type of merchandise at the same location for more than one hundred twenty days;
(4)
Give or offer a rebate, discount, or anything of value to an individual as an inducement
for selling consumer property or services in consideration of giving the names of
prospective purchasers or otherwise aiding in making a sale to another person, if the
earning of the rebate, discount, or other thing of value is contingent upon the occurrence
of an event subsequent to the time the individual agrees to the sale;
(5)
Engage in any scheme or plan for disposal or distribution of merchandise whereby a
participant pays a valuable consideration for the chance to receive compensation primarily
for introducing one or more additional persons into participation in the planner's scheme
or for the chance to receive compensation when the person introduced by the participant
introduces a new participant;
(6)
Send, deliver, provide, mail, or cause to be sent, delivered, provided, or mailed any
unordered consumer property or service, or any bill or invoice for unordered consumer
property or service provided;
(7) Advertise a rate, price, or fee for a hotel, motel, campsite, or other lodging
accommodation which is not in fact available to the public under the terms advertised. It
is not a violation of this subdivision to establish contract rates which are different than
public rates;
(8) Charge a rate, price, or fee for a hotel, motel, campsite, or other lodging accommodation
which is different than the rate, price, or fee charged on the first night of the guest's stay
unless, at the initial registration of the guest, a written notification of each price, rate, or
fee to be charged during the guest's reserved continuous stay is delivered to the guest and
an acknowledgment of receipt of the notice is signed by the guest and kept by the
innkeeper for the same period of time as is required by
§
34-18-21;
(9) Knowingly and intentionally fail to mail to a future guest a written confirmation of the
date and rates of reservations made for any accommodation at a hotel, motel, campsite,
or other lodging accommodation when a written request for confirmation is received from
the future guest; or
(10) Refuse to return or reverse the charge for a deposit upon any hotel, motel, campsite, or
other lodging accommodation which is canceled by the guest more than thirty days before
the date of the reservation. The innkeeper may establish a policy requiring a longer time
for notice of cancellation or a handling fee in the event of cancellation, which may not
exceed twenty-five dollars, if the policy is in writing and is delivered or mailed to the
guest at or near the making of the reservation.
Each act in violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Any subsequent conviction of an
act in violation of this statute, which occurs within two years is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any
subsequent conviction of an act in violation of this statute, which occurs within two years of a
conviction of a Class 1 misdemeanor pursuant to this statute, is a Class 6 felony.
Section
2.
That
§
34-18-21
be amended to read as follows:
34-18-21.
Each person conducting a lodging establishment or campground shall keep a record
of guests. Such a record may be kept in a register or on separate cards and shall be opened for
inspection and copying by the secretary of health for the purpose of protecting the health or life of
persons or for an emergency which may affect the public health. The inspection and copying shall
take place during business hours and shall be conducted by an authorized department inspector after
presentation of identification. The registry shall contain the name of the guest, the number in the
party, the place of permanent residence of the guest, the date of registration, the date of departure,
the daily rate charged, and the motor vehicle license number of the registrant. The record shall also
include each rate, price, or fee charged to the guest for the guest's stay at the lodging establishment
or campground, as required by subdivision 37-24-6(8). These records shall be kept for a minimum
of one year.
An Act to prohibit certain deceptive acts and practices with regard to lodging establishments and
campgrounds and to require that certain records be kept.
=========================
I certify that the attached
Act
originated in the
SENATE as
Bill
No.
82
|
____________________________
Secretary of the Senate
=========================
____________________________
President of the Senate
____________________________
Secretary of the Senate
____________________________
Speaker of the House
____________________________
Chief Clerk
Senate
Bill
No.
82
File No. ____
Chapter No. ______
=========================
Received at this Executive Office
this ____ day of _____________ ,
19___ at _____ M.
By _________________________
for the Governor
=========================
The attached Act is hereby
approved this ________ day of
______________ , A.D., 19___
____________________________
Governor
=========================
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA,
ss.
Office of the Secretary of State
Filed ____________ , 19___
at _________ o'clock __ M.
____________________________
Secretary of State
By _________________________
Asst. Secretary of State
