Section 1.
Legislative intent.
This Legislature finds that in 1987 the Legislature adopted Chapter 365 "Caterers" in response to complaints received regarding perceived unfair practices used by some in the catering industry.
This Legislature further finds that in response to those complaints Chapter 365 provided regulations regarding, among other things, cancellation fees including that 1) if a caterer was able to rebook an event after a cancellation, the cancellation fee could not exceed 5% of the contract price or $100, which ever was less, and 2) there was an irrebuttable presumption that a caterer could rebook for the same date after a cancellation if an event was cancelled at least 6 months prior to the event date.
This Legislature has determined that after careful review of the various sections of Chapter 365 of the Suffolk County Code — which is more than three (3) decades old — amendments are needed in order to better reflect the interests of both consumers and caterers alike.
This Legislature further finds that caterers are sometimes left with an insufficient amount of time to resell a date after a cancellation and that given the recent trends in catering it is unreasonable to have a presumption that a caterer will be able to rebook an event when a cancellation occurs six months or more before the originally scheduled date.
This Legislature further finds that currently, certain events, like weddings, booked as far as 18 months in advance of the event date and that if a caterer is rebooking an event after a cancellation, it could be for a much smaller, less profitable event.
This Legislature further finds that cancellation fees should keep up with inflation to avoid unfairness to caterers.
This Legislature further finds that while some sections of Chapter 365 provide protections for consumers and caterers alike, the manner in which it is currently constructed may cause caterers to be less competitive when compared to nearby counties.
Therefore, the purpose of this law is to amend Chapter 365 of the Suffolk County Code to address these findings.
Section 3.
Applicability.
This law shall apply to all actions occurring on or after the effective date of this law.