Well, that was fast. Both California’s State Assembly and Senate have unanimously passed SB 1524, which excludes restaurants from SB 478, the statewide ban on junk fees that goes into effect on July 1. According to the new bill, L.A. restaurants—as well as all others within the state—can keep any surcharges and fees as long as they are “clearly and conspicuously displayed with an explanation of its purpose on an advertisement, menu or other display.”
While Governor Gavin Newsom has yet to sign SB 1524 into law, he’s widely expected to do so in the near future given the widespread support in both state legislative bodies. Among others, the new bill was introduced by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the original author of SB 478. As first reported by the Los Angeles Times, the initial interpretation of SB 478 given by the California Attorney General’s Office caused Dodd, along with several co-authors, to reconsider whether to include restaurants in the ban. (Event tickets, short-term rentals and hotels, which are all part of the original junk fee bill, will still need to fold these fees into their pricing on July 1.)
The Attorney General’s preliminary Q&A, which Time Out covered last month, caused significant blowback among various restaurant lobbying groups, who claimed that the need to raise menu prices (a.k.a. to fold service fees into them) would change consumer behavior and affect the bottom line of all restaurants in the state, from big chains to independently run small businesses.
However, as with SB 478, SB 1524 won’t change the cost of dining out; it will only allow restaurants to continue doing what they’ve already been doing. It’s unclear how California plans to enforce mandating “clearly and conspicuously displayed” service fees and surcharges. After all, it’s a claim that plenty of restaurants, in L.A. or otherwise, have already made about their service fees while putting the fees in fine, fine print at the bottom of the menu.
In the wake of July 1, the day the junk fees ban will come into effect, a handful of L.A. restaurants have already eliminated service fees. This includes Jon & Vinny’s and its related properties, plus Silver Lake’s L&E Oyster Bar. While SB 1524 has yet to be officially signed into law, leaving restaurants in limbo, the government has spoken: You’re going to have to keep doing the math to figure out the true cost of dining out.