January 28, 2003, Introduced by Rep. DeRoche and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 449, entitled
"An act to regulate the pricing of consumer items and the
advertising of consumer items, services, goods, merchandise,
commodities, and real property; to prescribe the powers and
duties of certain state and local officials in relation thereto;
to provide remedies and penalties; and to repeal certain acts and
parts of acts,"
by amending section 3 (MCL 445.353) and by adding sections 3a
and 3b.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 3. (1) The A
person shall clearly and conspicuously
2 indicate the total price of a consumer item displayed or offered
3 for sale at retail shall
be clearly and conspicuously indicated
4 in arabic Arabic
numerals. , so as to The total price must be
5 readable and
understandable by visual inspection , and shall
6 be stamped upon or affixed to the consumer item. If the
7 consumer item is in a package or container, the total price
8 shall must be stamped upon or affixed to the outside
surface of
1 the package or container and need not be placed directly upon the
2 consumer item.
3 (2) The
requirements of subsection Subsection (1) shall
4 does not apply to:
5 (a) A consumer item
sold by weight or volume which that is
6 not in a package or container.
7 (b) A consumer item sold in a coin operated vending machine.
8 (c) Prepared food intended for immediate consumption, as
9 defined in section 4g of Act
No. 167 of the Public Acts of 1933,
10 being section 205.54g
of the Michigan Compiled Laws the
general
11 sales tax act, 1933 PA 167, MCL 205.54g.
12 (d) A consumer item purchased by mail or through catalog
13 order, or which that
is not otherwise visible for inspection by
14 the consumer at the time
of the sale, and which that is ordered
15 or requested by the consumer, if the price of the consumer item
16 is on the consumer's written order or request or on a bill,
17 invoice, or other notice which
that describes or names the
18 consumer item and which
is enclosed with the consumer item.
19 (e) An unpackaged food item.
20 (f) A consumer item which
that has a total weight of not
21 more than 3 ounces, a total volume of not more than 3 cubic
22 inches, and or
a total price of not more than 30 cents.
23 (g) Live plants.
24 (h) Live animals.
25 (i) Motor vehicles.
26 (j) Motor vehicle parts.
27 (k) Packages of 20 or fewer cigarettes.
1 (l) Greeting cards sold individually which that
have a
2 readable coded price on the back of the card.
3 (m) Merchandise ordered
as a gift by a consumer which that
4 is sent by mail or other delivery service to a person other than
5 the consumer by the retailer at the request of the consumer.
6 (n) A consumer item sold in compliance with section 3a.
7 (3) In addition to
the exemptions allowed in exceptions
8 under subsection (2), a retailer may choose to not individually
9 price mark not more than 25 classes of items or individual items,
10 which classes or items shall be listed and posted in a
11 conspicuous place in the retail store, and may choose to not
12 individually price mark not more than 25 additional classes of
13 items or individual items
which that are advertised or featured
14 at a reduced price.
15 (4) The If
the price and the name or description of a class
16 of items or individual items are not price marked pursuant to
17 subsection (3), shall
be indicated the retailer shall indicate
18 the price and the name or description of the class of items or
19 individual items by posting a clear, readable, and conspicuous
20 sign in immediate conjunction with the area in which the unmarked
21 item or class of items is displayed.
22 (5) As used in subsections (3) and (4), "item", except as
23 otherwise provided in this subsection, means 1 or more identical
24 articles , sold
in identical quantities or measures. An item
25 may include more than 1 product, brand, kind, size, or type of
26 packaging, if they are packaged together and sold as a set and
27 the sets are identical in all respects, including quantity or
1 measure.
2 Sec. 3a. (1) Section 3(1) does not apply to a consumer item
3 displayed or offered for sale at retail that meets all of the
4 following requirements:
5 (a) The consumer item is not a food item or nonprescription
6 medicine.
7 (b) At the point of display of the consumer item, there is a
8 label or sign posted immediately above, below, or adjacent to the
9 consumer item that clearly and conspicuously displays to the
10 consumer the total price of the consumer item in arabic numerals
11 and a description of the consumer item, including, but not
12 limited to, the product name or description, brand, and size of
13 the item.
14 (c) The retailer utilizes an automatic checkout system at the
15 retail store that is audited at least every calendar quarter by
16 an independent certified public accountant or accounting firm,
17 and the accountant or firm certifies, and issues a certificate of
18 compliance, that the automatic checkout system meets 1 of the
19 following:
20 (i) Demonstrates an accuracy rate of not less than 98%.
21 (ii) Has an error rate not greater than 2% for sales of
22 consumer items during the preceding calendar quarter.
23 (d) The retailer provides at least 1 remote UPC code scanner
24 for each 5,000 square feet of retail floor space in each retail
25 store location. A remote UPC code scanner shall meet all of the
26 following requirements:
27 (i) Is compatible with and synchronized with the UPC code
1 scanning capability of the retailer's automatic checkout system
2 used at the point of sale.
3 (ii) Is readily accessible to consumers and located in a
4 convenient place within the retail store.
5 (iii) Is able to print a paper sales confirmation report for
6 a consumer item scanned by a consumer that contains the total
7 price of the consumer item in arabic numerals and a description
8 of the consumer item, including, but not limited to, the product
9 name or designation, brand, and size of the item.
10 (2) In determining an accuracy rate or error rate under
11 subsection (1)(b), the certified public accountant or accounting
12 firm shall include overcharges to a consumer but not
13 undercharges. The accountant or firm may use recognized sampling
14 techniques in the quarterly audit. A retailer shall maintain
15 audit reports and certificates of compliance for 5 years and make
16 them available to the director on request. The retailer shall
17 post the most recent certificate of compliance in a conspicuous
18 location in the retail store.
19 (3) If the retailer fails to meet the accuracy and
20 certification requirements of subsection (1) for a retail store,
21 the retailer has 30 days in which to correct any system
22 deficiencies and to obtain a recertification from the certified
23 public accountant or accounting firm. If the retailer does not
24 obtain a recertification within the 30-day period, this section
25 does not apply to the consumer items at that retail store, and
26 the retailer shall comply with section 3 with respect to the
27 consumer items described in this section, and may not utilize the
1 exception to section 3(1) contained in this section at that
2 retail store for a period of at least 180 days.
3 (4) The director is responsible for the implementation and
4 the administration of this section. The department may
5 promulgate rules pursuant to the administrative procedures act of
6 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, regarding audit and
7 certification standards for automatic checkout systems and remote
8 UPC code scanners.
9 Sec. 3b. (1) A person shall not knowingly charge or attempt
10 to charge for a consumer item a retail price exceeding the price
11 displayed on a sign or contained in a price confirmation report
12 for the item under section 3a. It is not a violation of this act
13 to charge for a consumer item a total price less than the price
14 displayed on a sign or contained in a confirmation report under
15 section 3a.
16 (2) It is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section
17 if a price charged or attempted to be charged as a result of
18 electronic identification or calculation by an automatic checkout
19 system exceeds the price displayed on a sign or contained in a
20 confirmation report under section 3a.
21 (3) Before bringing or joining an action under section 10(2),
22 within 30 days after purchasing a consumer item that is not a
23 food item or nonprescription medicine at a retail store that
24 meets the accuracy and certification requirement of section 3a, a
25 consumer who suffers a loss because the price charged for the
26 consumer item is more than the displayed price for the item or
27 the price set forth on the price confirmation report shall notify
1 the retailer in person or in writing of the price discrepancy.
2 If, within 2 days after the notification, the retailer tenders to
3 the consumer an amount equal to the difference between the
4 displayed price or the price set forth on the price confirmation
5 report and the price charged, plus an amount equal to 20 times
6 that difference, but that is not less than $2.00 or more than
7 $10.00, the consumer is barred from further recovery for that
8 loss. If the loss is suffered by 1 consumer within 1 transaction
9 on 2 or more identical items, the retailer shall tender the
10 difference on each item, plus an amount equal to 20 times the
11 difference on a single item but that is not less than $2.00 and
12 not more than $10.00. If the retailer does not tender this
13 amount, the consumer may bring or join in an action as provided
14 in section 10(2).
15 (4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a sale at retail if the
16 retailer intentionally charges more for an item than the posted
17 price or the price set forth on the price confirmation report.