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Assembly committee rejects Ortega swipe‑fee ban; reconsideration approved
Summary
The Assembly committee voted against AB 1065, a bill from Assemblymember Ortega that would bar credit card ‘‘swipe’’ fees on sales‑tax portions of transactions, after hours of testimony from small business owners and financial industry groups. The measure failed on an initial roll call but the committee later voted to reconsider.
A California Assembly committee on Thursday voted down AB 1065, a bill by Assemblymember Ortega that would prohibit banks and credit card networks from charging swipe fees on the sales‑tax portion of card transactions, and later voted to reopen consideration.
The bill’s author argued the change would relieve small businesses that collect sales taxes for local services. Assemblymember Ortega said AB 1065 would “prohibit swipe fees on this tax portion of transactions paid with the credit card,” and described the measure as relief for small businesses paying thousands of dollars a month in processing costs.
The bill drew lengthy testimony from merchants, trade groups and banking representatives. Dozens of small business owners from Sacramento and other areas testified in support, saying swipe fees are a major operating expense;…
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