Int. No. 1028
By Council Members Epstein and De La Rosa
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to streamlining Truth-in-Pricing requirements and repealing section 20-708.1 of such code, relating to item pricing
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Section 20-707 of subchapter 2 of chapter 5 of title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by chapter 907 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
§ 20-707 Definitions.
(a) “Advertised price” shall mean the price of a stock keeping unit that a seller has promoted by advertising methods such as an in-store sign, internet ads, or newspaper, circular, television or radio advertising.
(b) “Computer-assisted price scanner” shall mean any electronic device, computer system, or machine that indicates the selling price of a stock keeping item by interpreting its universal product code, or an in-house product code, or by use of its price look-up function.
[(a)] (c) “Consumer commodity” shall be defined as any article, good, merchandise, product or commodity of any kind or class produced, distributed or offered for retail sale for consumption by individuals, or for personal, household or family purposes. For the purposes of this subchapter, drugs[, medicines] and cosmetics shall not be considered consumer commodities.
(d) “Price look-up function” shall mean the capability of any price identifying system to determine the retail price of a stock keeping item by way of the manual entry into the system of a code number assigned to that particular stock keeping unit by the seller or by way of the checkout operator's consultation of a file maintained at the point of sale.
[(b)] (e) “Price per measure” shall be defined as the retail price of a consumer commodity expressed in terms of the retail price of such commodity per such unit of weight, standard measure or standard number of units as the commissioner shall designate by regulation.
(f) “Stock keeping item” shall mean each individual consumer commodity of a stock keeping unit offered for sale. This shall include two or more pieces packaged for sale together.
(g) “Stock keeping unit,” known in the industry as “SKU,” shall mean each group of consumer commodities offered for sale of the same brand name, quantity of contents, retail price, and variety.
§ 2. Section 20-708 of subchapter 2 of chapter 5 of title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 84 for the year 1991, is amended to read as follows:
§ 20-708 Display of total selling price by tag or sign.
a. [All] For all consumer commodities, sold, exposed for sale or offered for sale at retail [except those items subject to section 20-708.1 of this code] a seller shall [have] conspicuously [displayed] display, at the point of exposure or offering for sale, the total selling price exclusive of tax by means of (a) a stamp, tag or label attached to the item or (b) by a sign at the point of display which indicates the item to which the price refers, provided that this information is plainly visible at the point of display for sale of the items so indicated. This section shall not apply to consumer commodities displayed in the window of the seller.
b. Price scanner accuracy. If a seller uses a computer-assisted price scanner, the department shall be permitted to compare the disclosed retail price of any one stock keeping item within any stock keeping unit sold by the seller, not to exceed five hundred stock keeping items at any one inspection, with the programmed computer price. The seller shall provide such access to the computer-assisted price scanner as is necessary for the department to complete the inspection. It shall be a violation for the programmed computer price to exceed the lowest price a seller is permitted to charge for a stock keeping item under subdivision c of this section.
c. Price accuracy. No seller shall charge a retail price for any stock keeping item which exceeds the lower of any stamp, tag, label, sign, sale or advertised price of such stock keeping item.
§ 3. Section 20-708.1 of subchapter 2 of chapter 5 of title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York is REPEALED.
§ 4. Section 20-711 of subchapter 2 of chapter 5 of title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 80 for the year 2021, is amended to read as follows:
§ 20-711 Penalties.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of section 20-708 or section 20-709 hereof or rules promulgated pursuant to this subchapter[, other than the provisions of section 20-708.1 or rules promulgated under such section,] shall pay a civil penalty of no more than fifty dollars for the first violation, no more than one hundred [and] seventy-five dollars for the second violation and no more than two hundred fifty dollars for the third and each subsequent violation [and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars for each violation]; except that a person shall be subject to a civil penalty of zero dollars for a first violation of section 20-708 [of this subchapter] or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder[,] if such person proves to the satisfaction of the department, within thirty days of the issuance of the notice of violation and prior to the commencement of an adjudication of the violation, that the violation has been cured. The submission of proof of a cure, if accepted by the department as proof that the violation has been cured, shall be deemed an admission of liability for all purposes. The option of presenting proof that the violation has been cured shall be offered as part of any settlement offer made by the department to a person who has received, for the first time, a notice of violation of section 20-708 [of this subchapter] or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. The department shall permit such proof to be submitted electronically or in person. [A person may seek review, in the department's administrative tribunal, of the determination that the person has not submitted proof of a cure within fifteen days of receiving written notification of such determination.] For the purposes of this section, each [group of identical consumer commodities] stock keeping unit for which on any single day the total selling price or price per measure is not displayed in accordance with section 20-708 or section 20-709, or rules promulgated pursuant to this subchapter, [other than the provisions of section 20-708.1 or rules promulgated under such section,]shall be considered a [single] separate violation.
§ 5. This local law takes effect 180 days after it becomes law.