LRBs0204/1
MDK:wlj:pg
2005 - 2006 LEGISLATURE
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO 2005 SENATE BILL 180
September 26, 2005 - Offered by
Committee on Judiciary, Corrections and
Privacy.
SB180-SSA1,1,2
1An Act to create 422.422 of the statutes;
relating to: cash discounts for
2purchases.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current federal law, with certain exceptions, a credit card issuer may not,
by contract or otherwise, prohibit a person who honors a credit card from offering a
customer a discount to induce the customer to pay by cash, check, or similar means,
rather than by use of a credit card or its underlying account, for the purchase of
property or services. The exceptions pertain to transactions involving the following:
1) business, commercial, agricultural, or organization credit, rather than consumer
credit; 2) credit extended to entities, rather than natural persons; 3) amounts in
excess of $25,000; 3) public utility credit; 4) security or commodity accounts; 5) home
fuel budget plans; or 6) student loans.
This bill creates the same requirement under state law in the Wisconsin
Consumer Act (WCA). Because the requirement is created in the WCA, the
requirement applies only to consumer transactions involving $25,000 or less. The
WCA has additional exceptions that are comparable to the exceptions under federal
law pertaining to agricultural or organization credit and transactions involving
securities. The bill's requirement is enforced by the Department of Financial
Institutions, which has authority under current law to enforce the WCA.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB180-SSA1,2,5
2422.422 Cash discounts. No credit card issuer may, by contract or otherwise,
3prohibit a merchant from offering a discount to a customer to induce the customer
4to pay by cash, check, or similar means, rather than by use of a credit card or its
5underlying account, for the purchase of goods or services.
