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Bill

S 5849

Requires hotels and lodging facilities to contact guests who leave items behind

2025 Regular Session Introduced by James Skoufis

Requires hotels to contact guests who left items behind, shaping a clear outreach process to recover lost belongings and protect consumers.

REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION
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Bill Summary · S 5849

S 5849 — Summary

Bill title: Requires hotels and lodging facilities to contact guests who leave items behind
Sponsor (primary): James Skoufis
Status: Referred to the Consumer Protection committee
Introduced: March 3, 2025
Related bills: S 6884 (prior-session)

Purpose and Intent

The bill would require hotels and other lodging facilities to contact guests who have left items behind in their rooms. The aim is to improve the recovery of lost items and protect consumers by ensuring guests are informed about items left in rooms and able to reclaim them.

Key Provisions (as indicated by title and status)

  • Hotels and lodging facilities would be obligated to contact guests who leave items behind after their stay.
  • The bill would establish a procedural framework for identifying the guest and reaching out to them with information about their left items.
  • Specific details such as contact methods (e.g., phone, email, mail), timelines for when contact must occur, retention periods for found items, and processes for returning or delivering items would be defined in the bill’s text (not provided in the summary).
  • Privacy and data handling considerations related to guest information may be addressed in the full text (not specified here).

Note: The current summary and version content do not include the exact procedural elements, timelines, penalties, or enforcement mechanisms. Reading the full bill text would provide precise requirements.

Affected Parties

  • Hospitalsity industry: Hotels and other lodging facilities would need to implement and maintain a contact process for guests who leave items behind.
  • Guests: Individuals who stay in hotels and leave items behind would benefit from a clearer, potentially faster recovery process.
  • Regulators/Enforcement: Consumer protection agencies or the relevant enforcement body would oversee compliance and enforcement (as implied by the bill’s assignment to the Consumer Protection committee).

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Introduced and referred to the Consumer Protection committee on March 3, 2025.
  • The status indicates movement within committee, with no further timeline provided in the summary.
  • The bill is listed alongside a related prior-session measure, S 6884, suggesting alignment or continuity with earlier proposals.

Potential Impact and Considerations

  • Could improve guest satisfaction and reduce loss of personal property by ensuring timely communication about left-behind items.
  • May impose new administrative duties and recordkeeping requirements on hotels, with associated compliance costs.
  • The exact scope, enforcement, and penalties (if any) would depend on the bill’s detailed language.
  • Privacy considerations for handling guest contact information would be important to address in the final text.

Next Steps

  • Review the full bill text to understand the precise requirements, timelines, and enforcement provisions.
  • Monitor committee activity in the Consumer Protection committee for amendments, deadlines, and potential floor action.
  • Compare with related S 6884 to assess consistency or differences across sessions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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