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SF3225 (Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026))

Food and beverage service establishments exemption from the mandatory fee advertisement requirement

Related bill: HF3039

AI Generated Summary

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to amend existing Minnesota commerce laws to exempt certain food and beverage service establishments from the requirement to disclose mandatory fees in advertisements.

Main Provisions

  • The bill modifies the current law regarding deceptive trade practices, which requires businesses to include all mandatory fees in advertised prices for goods and services.
  • It introduces an exemption allowing food and beverage service establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, bars, food concessions, grocery stores, and catering services, to omit mandatory fees from advertised prices, as long as these fees are clearly disclosed in a conspicuous manner on menus or contracts.
  • These facilities must ensure any mandatory fees, like gratuities, are clearly disclosed to customers in advertisements and displays where pricing information is present.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

  • The existing law mandating that all advertised prices include any mandatory fees will no longer apply to individual food or beverage items sold directly to consumers by the specified types of establishments.
  • This change means that these businesses can separate certain fees from the initial price they advertise, making it clear to consumers that additional costs such as gratuities might be added to their total bill.

Relevant Terms

  • Deceptive trade practices
  • Mandatory fees and surcharges
  • Food and beverage service establishments
  • Gratuities
  • Advertising compliance
  • Exemptions from advertising requirements

Bill text versions

Actions

DateChamberWhereTypeNameCommittee Name
April 01, 2025SenateFloorActionIntroduction and first reading
April 01, 2025SenateFloorActionReferred toCommerce and Consumer Protection

Citations

 
[
  {
    "analysis": {
      "added": [
        "Clarifies types of fees that are exempt from display requirements."
      ],
      "removed": [],
      "summary": "This bill modifies exemptions related to mandatory fee advertisements for motor vehicle dealers under section 168.27, subdivision 1.",
      "modified": [
        "Explicitly references motor vehicle dealers as defined under section 168.27."
      ]
    },
    "citation": "168.27",
    "subdivision": "subdivision 1"
  },
  {
    "analysis": {
      "added": [],
      "removed": [],
      "summary": "This bill cites section 157.15 for the definition of a 'food concession'.",
      "modified": [
        "References current definition outlined in section 157.15."
      ]
    },
    "citation": "157.15",
    "subdivision": ""
  }
]

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