California Bill Would Ban ‘Junk’ Fees for Hotels, Flights, Concert Tickets

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento on April 18, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California officials are taking aim at eliminating junk fees—or hidden costs—on goods and services following a national push by the Biden administration.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta joined with Democratic state Sens. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) by sponsoring SB 478.

“Prices advertised should be the price you pay. Plain and simple,” Bonta said in a video statement. “Whether renting a car, booking a hotel room, or purchasing concert tickets, we all know how frustrating it is to get to the checkout and find out that something advertised as one price actually costs much, much more.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks during a news conference in San Francisco, Calif. on Nov. 15, 2021. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Filed Feb. 14, the bill would make it illegal to advertise, display, or offer a price of a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges other than government-imposed taxes.

The officials said hidden fees, sometimes called “drip fees,” have historically been used in the travel and lodging industry, but the practice is spreading.

The fees can now be found in various areas, ranging from car rental, airport parking, event ticketing, restaurant service fees, and food delivery charges. Internet service providers and the automobile industry are also employing the practice more commonly, they said.

“Californians are sick and tired of dishonest fees being tacked on to seemingly everything,” Dodd said. “It’s an underhanded trick to boost corporate profits at the expense of those who can least afford it.

In September, President Joe Biden called on all federal agencies to reduce or eliminate hidden fees on everything from banking services to cable and internet bills to airline and concert tickets. He renewed his effort by calling on Congress to take action during his State of the Union address Feb. 7.

Biden’s proposal, the Junk Fees Prevention Act, differs from California’s proposed legislation. The national law would limit extra fees or surcharges by travel and entertainment industries, including early termination fees from cable TV or internet providers, and fees charged for concerts and sporting events.

People gather in the United Airlines departures area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 1, 2021. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), a national voice for community banks, rejected claims made by Biden during the speech.

“ICBA and the nation’s community banks continue to reject President Biden’s mischaracterization of overdraft protection services and credit card fees for late payments as ‘junk fees,’” the group’s president Rebeca Romero said in a statement. “Such language misrepresents the overdraft protection services that banks offer their customers and how community banks meet the credit card needs of their customers.”

A poll published Feb. 15 by Morning Consult, a business data research company, found the idea popular across the political spectrum.

“Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on many things but paying less for concert tickets or to switch cable TV providers is one of them,” the company said in a release.

Overall, about three in four Americans supported Biden’s proposal, according to the poll.