SENATE BILL No. 1211

March 20, 2002, Introduced by Senator EMMONS and referred to the Committee on Farming,

Agribusiness and Food Systems.

A bill to amend 1976 PA 449, entitled

"An act to regulate the pricing of consumer items and the adver-

tising of consumer items, services, goods, merchandise, commodi-

ties, 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 sections 1 and 3 (MCL 445.351 and 445.353).

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1 Sec. 1. As used in this act:

2 (a) "Advertising" means all representations disseminated in

3 any manner by any means for the purpose of inducing, or which

4 THAT are likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase

5 of a consumer item, service, good, merchandise, commodity, or

6 real property.

7 (b) "Automatic checkout system" means an electronic device,

8 computer, or machine which THAT determines the price of a

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1 consumer item by using a product identity code, and may but is

2 not required to include an optical scanner.

3 (c) "Class of item" means a group of consumer items which

4 THAT may vary by brand, style, pattern, color, or size other than

5 weight or volume. Items within a class must otherwise be iden-

6 tical and offered at the same total price.

7 (d) "Consumer item" means an article of tangible personal

8 property used or consumed, or bought for use or consumption, pri-

9 marily for personal, family, or household purposes.

10 (e) "Director" means the director of the department of agri-

11 culture or his OR HER authorized representative.

12 (F) "ELECTRONIC SHELF LABELING SYSTEM" MEANS AN ELECTRONIC

13 SYSTEM THAT UTILIZES AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE ATTACHED TO A SHELF OR

14 OTHER POINT OF SALE, IMMEDIATELY ABOVE OR BELOW A CONSUMER ITEM,

15 THAT CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY DISPLAYS TO THE CONSUMER THE UNIT

16 PRICE AND TOTAL PRICE OF THE CONSUMER ITEM IN ARABIC NUMBERS.

17 (G) (f) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership,

18 corporation, association, or other legal entity.

19 (H) (g) "Sale at retail" means the transfer of an interest

20 in a consumer item by a person regularly and principally engaged

21 in the business of selling consumer items to a buyer for use or

22 consumption and not for resale.

23 (I) (h) "Total price" means the full purchase price of a

24 consumer item, excluding sales tax and container deposit.

25 Sec. 3. (1) The A PERSON SHALL CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY

26 INDICATE THE total price of a consumer item displayed or offered

27 for sale at retail shall be clearly and conspicuously indicated

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1 in arabic ARABIC numerals. , so as to be THE TOTAL PRICE MUST

2 BE readable and understandable by visual inspection , and

3 shall be stamped upon or affixed to the consumer item. If the

4 consumer item is in a package or container, the total price

5 shall MUST be stamped upon or affixed to the outside surface of

6 the package or container and need not be placed directly upon the

7 consumer item.

8 (2) The requirements of subsection SUBSECTION (1) shall

9 DOES not apply to:

10 (a) A consumer item sold by weight or volume which THAT is

11 not in a package or container.

12 (b) A consumer item sold in a coin operated vending

13 machine.

14 (c) Prepared food intended for immediate consumption, as

15 defined in section 4g of Act No. 167 of the Public Acts of 1933,

16 being section 205.54g of the Michigan Compiled Laws THE GENERAL

17 SALES TAX ACT, 1933 PA 167, MCL 205.54G.

18 (d) A consumer item purchased by mail or through catalog

19 order, or which THAT is not otherwise visible for inspection by

20 the consumer at the time of the sale, and which THAT is ordered

21 or requested by the consumer, if the price of the CONSUMER item

22 is on the consumer's written order or request or on a bill,

23 invoice, or other notice which THAT describes or names the

24 CONSUMER item and which is enclosed with the CONSUMER item.

25 (e) An unpackaged food item.

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1 (f) A consumer item which THAT has a total weight of not

2 more than 3 ounces, a total volume of not more than 3 cubic

3 inches, and OR a total price of not more than 30 cents.

4 (g) Live plants.

5 (h) Live animals.

6 (i) Motor vehicles.

7 (j) Motor vehicle parts.

8 (k) Packages of 20 or fewer cigarettes.

9 (l) Greeting cards sold individually which THAT have a

10 readable coded price on the back of the card.

11 (m) Merchandise ordered as a gift by a consumer which THAT

12 is sent by mail or other delivery service to a person other than

13 the consumer by the retailer at the request of the consumer.

14 (N) A CONSUMER ITEM, IF THE RETAILER USES AN ELECTRONIC

15 SHELF LABELING SYSTEM FOR THAT ITEM.

16 (3) In addition to the exemptions allowed in EXCEPTIONS

17 UNDER subsection (2), a retailer may choose to not individually

18 price mark not more than 25 classes of items or individual items,

19 which classes or items shall be listed and posted in a conspicu-

20 ous place in the retail store, and may choose to not individually

21 price mark not more than 25 additional classes of items or indi-

22 vidual items which THAT are advertised or featured at a reduced

23 price.

24 (4) The IF THE price and the name or description of a

25 class of items or individual items ARE not PRICE marked pursuant

26 to subsection (3), shall be indicated THE RETAILER SHALL

27 INDICATE THE PRICE AND THE NAME OR DESCRIPTION OF THE CLASS OF

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1 ITEMS OR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS by POSTING a clear, readable, and

2 conspicuous sign in immediate conjunction with the area in which

3 the unmarked item or class of items is displayed.

4 (5) As used in subsections (3) and (4), "item", except as

5 otherwise provided in this subsection, means 1 or more identical

6 articles , sold in identical quantities or measures. An item

7 may include more than 1 product, brand, kind, size, or type of

8 packaging, if they are packaged together and sold as a set and

9 the sets are identical in all respects, including quantity or

10 measure.

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