Local Authority To Impose Food Delivery Fee Restrictions
During a declared public health disaster emergency, the act authorizes counties and municipalities to enact ordinances and resolutions that:
- Limit the amount of the fee, excluding a fee related to credit card processing, that a third-party delivery service may charge to a retail food establishment in a county or municipality where indoor dining is prohibited at a capacity of at least 50% or below at the discretion of the county or municipality;
- Restrict the ability of a third-party food delivery service to reduce the compensation rate or tips paid to a delivery driver or retail food establishment to offset revenue reductions resulting from a fee limit;
- Require that any fee or commission charged to a retail food establishment be disclosed by the third-party food delivery service to the customer; and
- Restrict a third-party food delivery service's ability to service a retail food establishment without the retail food establishment's consent.
The act immunizes any county or municipality that enacts an ordinance or a resolution as authorized by the act from liability for economic damage suffered as a result of the ordinance or resolution unless a court holds that the damage amounts to an unconstitutional taking of private property. The act also defines a declared public health disaster emergency for purposes of the act as the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, as declared by the governor by executive order.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)