PRINTER'S NO. 295
No. 289 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY D. R. WRIGHT, WILT AND STEWART, JANUARY 27, 1981
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, JANUARY 27, 1981
AN ACT
1 Requiring item pricing to appear on certain consumer
2 commodities; imposing powers and duties on the Bureau of
3 Consumer Protection and providing penalties.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Item Pricing
8 Law."
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
12 meanings given to them in this section:
13 "Automatic checkout system." An electronic device, computer
14 or machine which determines the price of a consumer item by
15 using a product identity code and shall include an automated
16 optical scanner.
17 "Consumer commodity." Any food, drug, device or cosmetic and
18 other article, product or commodity of any other kind or class,
1 which are customarily produced for sale to retail agencies or
2 instrumentalities for consumption by individuals, for use by
3 individuals for personal care or in the performances of services
4 ordinarily rendered in or around the household and which are
5 usually consumed in the course of such consumption or use. The
6 term "consumer commodity" shall not be construed to include the
7 shelf, carton or crate in which the commodities were received at
8 the retail establishment.
9 "Sale at retail." The transfer of an interest in a consumer
10 item by a person regularly and principally engaged in the
11 business of selling consumer commodities to a buyer for use or
12 consumption and not for resale.
13 "Total price." The full purchase price of the consumer
14 commodity without regards to units of weight, measure or count,
15 excluding sales tax and container deposit.
16 Section 3. Item price marking.
17 The total price of consumer commodities offered for sale at
18 retail shall be clearly, conspicuously and plainly displayed in
19 arabic numerals, so as to be readable and understandable by
20 visual inspection and shall be stamped upon or affixed directly
21 upon each individual consumer commodity as close as possible to
22 the product identity code. If a consumer commodity is canned,
23 bottled, boxed or bagged, but sold in quantities of more than
24 one in the containers in which the product came from the
25 manufacturer or distributor, the price may be marked on the
26 outer containers rather than on each individual items; such
27 items could include single pieces of bubble gum, penny candy,
28 single cigars and similar items but not to the distortion of the
29 basic intended protection of this proposal to the consumer.
30 Section 4. Exceptions.
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1 The provisions of this act shall not apply to:
2 (1) Consumer commodities subject to the packaging or
3 labeling requirements of the Federal Alcohol Administration
4 or to any pricing requirements by Federal law.
5 (2) An item of goods offered for sale through a vending
6 machine.
7 (3) An item of goods sold only by prescription.
8 (4) Prepared foods intended for immediate consumption
9 such as fast food restaurants and like establishments.
10 (5) A consumer item purchased by mail through a catalog
11 order, or which is not otherwise visible for inspection by
12 the consumer at the time of the sale and which is ordered or
13 requested by the consumer, if the price of the item is on the
14 consumer's written order or request, or on a bill, invoice,
15 or other notice which describes or names the item and which
16 is enclosed with the item.
17 (6) Live animals.
18 (7) Greeting cards sold individually which have a
19 readable coded price on the back of the card.
20 (8) Magazines sold with a sale price visually printed on
21 the cover at the time of printing.
22 (9) Merchandise ordered as a gift by a consumer which is
23 sent by mail or other delivery service to a person other than
24 the consumer by the retailer at the request of the consumer.
25 Section 5. Evidence of violation.
26 (a) It shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this
27 act if any retailer using an automatic checkout system or
28 magnetic scanning of the Universal Product Code system for
29 checkout fails to comply with section 2.
30 (b) It shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of
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1 section 2 if a price charged or attempted to be charged as a
2 result of electronic identification or calculation by an
3 automatic checkout system exceeds the price required to be
4 indicated pursuant to section 2.
5 (c) Each violation with respect to a particular consumer
6 commodity on any single day shall be deemed a separate offense.
7 Section 6. Remedies.
8 Any person who violates any provisions of this act commits a
9 summary offense and shall upon conviction be fined not more than
10 $100 for the first offense nor more than $500 for each
11 subsequent offense. Each violation with respect to a particular
12 consumer commodity on any single day shall be deemed a separate
13 offense.
14 Section 7. Rules and regulations.
15 The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the
16 Office of Attorney General shall promulgate such rules and
17 regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this
18 act.
19 Section 8. Effective date.
20 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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