Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, works on the Senate floor at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Photo by Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
An Oregon lawmaker’s pricier-than-expected trip to a minor league baseball game could lead to a state law blocking surprise fees and forcing vendors to be transparent in online transactions.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, introduced Senate Bill 430, which received its first public hearing on Thursday, after his outing to a Eugene Emeralds game with his softball team last May went awry.
Prozanski and several of his softball teammates bought their tickets online, expecting to pay $6 per ticket. He agreed to a $2 processing charge, entered his information and confirmed the sale, only to see a $10 service fee pop up after he paid.
“So now the $6 ticket is now costing me $18 and I’m going, ‘How the heck could that happen?” Prozanski told members of the Senate Labor and Business Committee. “I mean, at least I should know before I buy the ticket how much is it actually going to cost me.”
His bill would require all online retailers to display a written summary of the transaction, including any fees or charges, before a buyer checks out and ensure that buyers can walk away from the sale.
It’s similar to a rule from the Federal Trade Commission which is set to take effect in May requiring sellers of event tickets and hotels or vacation rentals to clearly and prominently display the total cost of the ticket or lodging.
Prozanski’s bill would include goods, not just tickets or hotel stays, and he said he’s open to some wiggle room on disclosing shipping and handling costs. He said most companies that handle routine consumer purchases should be able to calculate that cost before finalizing the sale because they’ll have the customer’s shipping address, and that he’d expect other companies to provide a notice that shipping costs will be determined.
“All I want to do is make certain before someone finalizes the purchase that they actually know how much it’s going to cost them, and they don’t get these other costs,” Prozanski said.
Committee chair Kathleen Taylor, a Portland Democrat, said she has heard complaints from constituents about fees, especially for concert tickets.
“There are people who are frequent concert goers and et cetera, who have reached out and have complained also about really high fees and not knowing what they are,” she said. “So a concert can say, ‘Oh, it’s $37 to go see fill-in-the-blank,’ and then by the time you’re done with the fees, you literally can pay more than what the original ticket was.”
Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, described the absurdity of some fees with a comparison to brick-and-mortar stores.
“Could you imagine going into your local grocery store and getting to the front and the clerk checks you out and then says, ‘We added a $20 convenience fee?’” he said.
The bill faces opposition from online retailers and other tech companies. Peter Brown, a lobbyist for the technology network TechNet told lawmakers that the bill would add too much complexity to an already regulated landscape. TechNet members include Amazon, Apple, Etsy, Shopify and StubHub, among a host of other companies.
“Many online platforms already comply with existing federal and state laws such as the Federal Trade Commission Act and state consumer protection statutes requiring additional disclosures could create overlapping obligations, leading to confusion for both sellers and buyers,” Brown said.
The consumer advocacy group Oregon Consumer Justice supports the measure. Policy Chair Chris Coughlin said the group has seen more and more consumers not know the full cost of goods and services.
The group also supports another Prozanski proposal, Senate Bill 425, which also had its first hearing on Thursday. That measure would build on a 2022 law that required most Oregon businesses to accept cash payments.
Prozanski’s ill-fated trip to Emeralds game highlighted that not all businesses follow the law — the cashier at the concessions stand turned him away when he tried to use a $10 bill to pay for his burger and drink. Prozanski, who prefers using cash or personal checks over credit cards, is working on that specific issue with the Emeralds. His bill, though, would ban merchants from charging customers for credit card processing fees if they don’t allow customers to pay with cash.
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