HF2149

Purpose of the Bill

The proposed legislation, known as the Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness Act, is designed to ensure fair pricing practices in the sale of grocery and consumer packaged goods in Minnesota. The bill aims to prevent unfair pricing discrimination by requiring suppliers to offer the same terms of sale to all retailers who purchase goods in similar quantities.

Main Provisions

• Definitions: Establishes terms such as "covered good," which includes grocery and packaged goods but excludes items like gasoline and prescription drugs. It also defines terms for "covered retailer," "covered supplier," and "dominant covered retailer."

• Price Parity: It is unlawful for suppliers to offer different pricing terms to retailers purchasing the same quantity of goods, ensuring that all retailers have access to similar pricing and sale conditions.

• Supplier Obligations: Suppliers must provide anonymized sale terms from contracts with dominant retailers to other retailers upon request, to ensure transparency.

• Restrictions on Dominant Retailers: Dominant retailers are prohibited from coercing suppliers into agreements that would limit the availability of goods to other retailers.

• Defenses and Immunity: Provides defenses for suppliers who can prove that differences in sale terms were due to genuine efficiencies. Suppliers can also claim immunity if they were coerced by dominant retailers into unfair practices and reported the issue to the attorney general.

Enforcement

• Authorized parties, including the state attorney general, can enforce compliance through injunctions and civil penalties, which can include compensation up to one and a half times the actual damages or pricing differential incurred.

Relevant Terms

• Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness
• Covered Good
• Pricing Differential
• Dominant Covered Retailer
• Antitrust Laws
• Same Terms of Sale
• Civil Penalties