California Restaurants Now Want an Exemption from the State’s New Hidden Fees Law

In “1984,” George Orwell’s novel about a dystopian future, he describes “newspeak,” a propagandistic language of euphemisms and inversions used by officialdom to mask the reality of their meaning.

We got a dose of California-style newspeak last week when state Sen. Bill Dodd, a Napa Democrat, introduced Senate Bill 1524. It would exempt restaurants from his previous legislation, SB 478, which requires businesses to fully include extra fees in their prices, rather than tacking them on after services or goods have been delivered.

Dodd declared his proposed new legislation would “enhance consumer protection” for restaurant patrons by “clarifying state law” on how fees and other service charges should be disclosed.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: CalMatters