HAUPPAUGE N.Y. Legislators in Long Island’s Suffolk County on Tuesday passed a bill requiring restaurateurs to list the prices of daily specials on their menus.
The bill, authored by Lynne Nowick, chairwoman of the Consumers Affairs Committee, now goes to county executive Steve Levy for his approval. If Levy signs the legislation, restaurants in Suffolk would face fines of $50 to $500 for noncompliance.
The measure contends that all restaurants in the county would have to “give their patrons adequate notice of the prices of all food items offered for sale, including those known as daily specials.”
In September, legislators in Nassau County, also on Long Island, proposed similar legislation requiring restaurants to post the prices of daily specials. The measure has passed through committee and awaits a Dec. 15 vote by local lawmakers.
“The goal of this legislation is to have the prices of specials posted whether they are dessert or dinner specials,” said Dave Denenberg, the Nassau County legislator who authored the bill on daily specials. “The posting process could include any prominent display in the restaurant, at the table or as an insert in the menu. We’re not looking to propose any great hardship. The purpose here is to let people know so they aren’t embarrassed to ask the price. The bottom line is full disclosure.”