[Adopted 5-11-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992; amended in its entirety 10-15-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019]
This article shall be known as the "Albany County Item Pricing
Law."
This article recognizes that clear, accurate item pricing is
a basic consumer right which is no longer protected under New York
State Law. It is the purpose of this article to ensure that consumer
goods offered for sale in the County of Albany are clearly, accurately
and adequately marked as to their selling price. The County Legislature
does, at the same time, recognize the numerous efficiencies and economies
available to the retail food industry through use of computerassisted
checkout systems (together with shelf tag labeling) as the primary
method of pricing consumer goods. It is the intention of this Legislature
to require that retail food stores place individual item prices on
products that they sell and to require accuracy at the checkout registers.
It is also the intention of this Legislature to provide for a waiver
of the item pricing requirement for certain stores that demonstrate
and maintain a very high degree of computer-assisted pricing accuracy
and that provide certain consumer protections and services that enhance
the ability of consumers to record and verify individual item prices.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any electronic device, computer system or machine which determines
the selling price of a stock-keeping item by interpreting its universal
product code, or by use of its price look-up function.
The authorized government official or his/her agents or employees
having jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this article.
The tag, stamp or mark affixed to a stock-keeping item by
an authorized person which sets forth, in clearly readable Arabic
numerals, the selling price.
An individual, firm, partnership, association or corporation.
The capability of any checkout system to determine the selling
price of a stock-keeping item by way of the manual entry into the
system of a code number assigned to that particular unit by the retail
store or by way of the checkout operator's consultation of a file
maintained at the point of sale.
The area designated in a retail store to display and sell
products, provide customer service and check out. The retail area
does not include the storage area, back rooms, stock area, maintenance
areas or other locations which are not intended to be accessible to
consumers.
A store selling stock-keeping units at retail, including,
but not limited to, grocery retailers, pharmacies and department stores.
A store which is not open to the general public but is reserved for
use by its members shall come within the provisions of this definition
unless the members must pay a direct fee to the store to qualify for
membership and the store is not required to collect sales tax on transactions
with members. Pursuant to this section, a retail store shall not include
any store which:
Has as its only full-time employee the owner thereof, or the
parent, or the spouse or child of the owner, or in addition thereto
not more than two full-time employees; or
Had annual gross sales in a previous calendar year of less than
$3,000,000, unless the retail store is part of a network of subsidiaries,
affiliates or other member stores, under direct or indirect common
control, which, as a group, had annual gross sales in the previous
calendar year of $3,000,000 or more; or
Engages primarily in the sale of food for consumption on the
premises or in a specialty trade which the Director of Weights and
Measures determines, by regulation, would be inappropriate for item
pricing.
Each individual item of a stock-keeping unit offered for
sale.
Each group of items offered for sale of the same brand name,
quantity of contents, retail price and variety within the following
categories:
Food, including all material, solid, liquid or mixed, whether
simple or compound, used or intended for consumption by human beings
or domestic animals normally kept as household pets and all substances
or ingredients to be added thereto for any purpose; and
Napkins, facial tissues, toilet tissues and any disposable wrapping
or container for the storage, handling or serving of food; and
Detergents, soaps, other cleansing agents and cleaning implements;
and
Nonprescription drugs, feminine hygiene products and health
and beauty aids.
Any system of coding which entails electronic pricing.
A.
Subject to the waiver provisions contained in § 226-7 of this article, every retail store, person, individual, firm, partnership, association or corporation which sells, offers for sale or exposes for sale in a retail store a stock-keeping unit that bears a universal product code shall disclose to the consumer the price of each stock-keeping item by individually marking each such item with the item price.
B.
Certain items exempted. The following stock-keeping items need not be item priced as provided in Subsection A of this section, provided that a shelf price and a price look-up function are maintained for such stock-keeping items:
(1)
Snack foods such as cakes, gum, candies, chips and nuts offered for
sale in single packages and weighing five ounces or less;
(2)
Stock-keeping items which are under three cubic inches in size, and
weigh less than three ounces, and are priced under $1;
(3)
Items sold through a vending machine;
(4)
Fresh milk, cream, half and half and other similarly packaged liquid
dairy products and orange juice;
(5)
Fresh eggs;
(6)
Unpackaged fresh produce;
(7)
Food offered for sale in bulk;
(8)
Items offered for sale which are packaged in polyplastic frozen food
bags;
(9)
All sale items merchandised in segregated off-shelf displays for
a period of up to 21 days, provided the name of the product and the
advertised or sale price is clearly and conspicuously posted on a
sign at the point of display;
(10)
Individual jars of strained and junior-size baby food;
(11)
Individual boxes of dry gelatin and pudding;
(12)
Ice cream and frozen yogurt; and
(13)
Stock-keeping items within a multi-package that is properly
item priced.
A.
No retail store, person, individual, firm, partnership, association or corporation shall charge a price for any exempt or nonexempt stock-keeping item which exceeds the lower of any item price, shelf price, sale price or advertised price of such stock-keeping item. In the event that the programmed computer price exceeds the lowest price a store is permitted to charge for a stock-keeping unit, the store will be subject to a penalty as described in § 226-6E.
B.
In a store with a laser scanning or other computer-assisted checkout
system, the inspector shall be permitted to compare the item, shelf,
sale or advertised price of any stock-keeping item sold in the store
with the programmed computer price.
A.
Item pricing inspection procedures. For the purpose of determining a store's compliance with the requirements of § 226-4, an inspection shall be conducted of a sample of no less than 10 stock-keeping units. However, in the event the inspector has received a specific written complaint, no such minimum sample shall be required in the investigation of same.
B.
Laser scanner accuracy inspection procedures. For any inspection under § 226-5 or § 226-7, the store representative shall afford the inspector access to the test mode of the checkout system in use at that store or to a comparable function of said system and the retail price information contained in a price look-up function. All inspections conducted pursuant to this subsection shall consist of a random sample of not less than 100 stock-keeping units nor more than 200 stock-keeping units. In the event the inspector has received a specific written complaint, the inspector, may, in his/her discretion, conduct an inspection of only those items.
C.
Stop-removal order. An inspector shall have the authority to issue a stop-removal order with respect to any device, system or stock-keeping unit being used, handled or offered for sale in violation of § 226-4 or § 226-5. Any such order shall be in writing and directed that the device, system or stock-keeping unit, as the case may be, shall be removed from use or sale pending correction.
D.
Penalties for item pricing violations. Any retail store which fails to mark any stock-keeping item in violation of § 226-4 shall be subject to penalties of not less than $5 and not more than $50 per violation. For additional violations during a subsequent inspection in a twelve-month period, the above penalties shall be doubled. In doubling penalties, an inspector shall not be limited to the doubling of any specific fine previously issued. No penalties shall be imposed for a violation of § 226-4 if more than 95% of all the stock-keeping items inspected in each stock-keeping unit at an individual point of sale contain clearly readable and correct item prices.
E.
Penalties for scanner accuracy violations. Upon a violation of the provisions of § 226-5, a penalty in the amount of $100 per violation shall be imposed for the first two violations of the stock-keeping items compared; $200 per violation for the next two violations; $250 per violation for the next two violations; and $350 for each additional violation. For additional violations during a subsequent inspection in a twelve-month period, the above penalties shall be tripled and suspension of a § 226-7 waiver for one year.
A.
Every retail store, person, individual, firm, partnership, association or corporation subject to this article which would otherwise be required to item price as provided in § 226-4 may make an application in writing to the Department of Weights and Measures for a waiver of the item pricing requirements as contained herein. The application shall be submitted to the Director of Weights and Measures for the County of Albany. Separate applications shall be required for each retail store, person, firm, partnership or corporation subject to this article.
B.
Each application for a waiver of the item pricing requirements contained
herein shall be subject to a nonrefundable annual waiver fee based
on the retail square footage of the retail area of each store as set
forth according to the following schedule:
|
Retail Area
(square feet)
|
Waiver Fee
|
|---|---|
|
Less than 5,000
|
$750
|
|
5,000 or more
|
$3,000
|
C.
Waiver applications and the required fee submitted under this section
must be received by the Department of Weights and Measures on or before
May 1 of each year. New stores which did not previously hold waivers
may apply after the May 1 deadline and the application and length
of the waiver will be prorated accordingly.
D.
Upon receipt of an application and fee as provided in Subsections A and B of this section, the Director of Weights and Measures shall cause to be conducted two scanner accuracy inspections of the store for which the application has been submitted. These inspections shall be conducted on two separate days, in a manner prescribed by the Director of the Department of Weights and Measures, and shall consist of comparing the shelf, sale or advertised price of any stock-keeping unit with the computer-assisted checkout system price. At stores with a retail area in excess of 30,000 square feet, a minimum of 50 items shall be checked at each inspection. At stores with a retail area of less than 30,000 square feet, a minimum of 25 items shall be checked. In the event that any violations are detected, penalties shall be assessed as provided in § 226-4E. If, considering both inspections together, the number of stock-keeping units found to be in violation does not exceed 2% of all stock-keeping units inspected, the Director of Weights and Measures shall grant to the applicant a revocable one-year waiver from item pricing requirements, provided that the applicant has paid all outstanding penalties imposed in connection with this article. Any store with a current waiver shall not be subject to the item pricing provisions set forth in § 226-4 herein.
E.
A waiver from item pricing requirement contained herein shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance. Stores must reapply annually for the renewal of a waiver at the rates established in Subsection B of this section. The waiver fee and two inspections shall be required for each annual renewal application, as required for an original waiver application.
F.
In the event that total violations in excess of 2% are discovered in the inspections provided for in Subsection D herein, the Director of Weights and Measures shall not grant a waiver to the applicant. Such a store may reapply for a waiver by submitting another application with the required fee.
G.
Scanners; stores with waivers.
(1)
Stores
that have less than 5,000 square feet are not required to install
a separate scanner in a retail area but must comply with all other
pricing requirements, contained in New York State Agriculture and
Markets Law § 214-h, have a uniform pricing code system
and shall maintain registers with a scanner system that clearly displays
to the consumer the price of each product that is scanned:
(2)
Any
retail store that obtains an annual waiver from item pricing shall
be required to:
(a)
Display easy-to-read and properly located shelf tags or signs on
every stock-keeping unit or group of stock-keeping units of the same
brand, size and price. Shelf tags shall contain all pricing information
required by New York State Agriculture and Markets Law § 214-h,
as such law is amended from time to time.
(b)
Post a notice for the consumer, in a conspicuous location, of the
granting of the item pricing waiver, which shall indicate consumer
rights with respect to the accurate pricing of items and price discrepancies.
(c)
Price check scanners.
[1]
Designate and make available price check scanners to enable consumers
to confirm the price of the stock-keeping item. These price check
scanners shall be in locations that are centrally located in the store
and convenient to consumers, with signs of sufficient lettering to
identify the scanners to consumers. The minimum number of price check
scanners shall be dependent on the store's retail area as follows:
|
Retail Area
(square feet)
|
Minimum Number of Scanners
|
|---|---|
|
Less than 5,000
|
Register Only
|
|
Less than 30,000
|
1
|
|
30,000 to 90,000
|
2
|
|
Over 90,000
|
4
|
[2]
Stores shall have the discretion to install price check scanners
which are capable of printing an adhesive label containing the price
of the stock-keeping item. Stores which choose to have scanners, in
an amount which complies with the requirements noted above, but which
do not print adhesive labels shall be considered in compliance with
the provisions of this article for purposes of granting a waiver.
Price check scanners may be used by the retail store to meet unanticipated
customer checkout needs.
(d)
Assist County inspectors with store inspections. The retail store
may make store personnel or hand-held price scanners available to
a County inspector to assist with price accuracy inspections. Inspections
of retail stores may be unannounced; provided, however, that the inspector
shall notify the store upon arrival.
H.
An annual waiver from item pricing shall be valid until such time
as a store falls below 98% accuracy on two consecutive pricing accuracy
inspections. Failure to meet the scanning accuracy requirement or
failure to pay the annual application fee shall subject the retail
store to the item pricing requirements of this article within 10 days
of the last inspection.
I.
In the event that the Director of Weights and Measures is unable
to conduct inspections pursuant to of this section within 30 days
of receipt of a completed written waiver application, the Director
of Weights and Measures shall grant a temporary waiver pending completion
of the inspections. If, upon completion, the item pricing inspections
detect a violation rate of 2% or less, the Director of Weights and
Measures shall issue an annual waiver. If the inspections detect a
violation rate in excess of 2%, the temporary waiver shall be immediately
revoked and the item pricing provisions of this article shall apply.
In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere prescribed in
this article, the Director of the Department of Weights and Measures
shall have the power to adopt, amend or rescind, after a public hearing,
such regulations that may be necessary to effectuate the purposes
of this article with respect to item pricing and accuracy. At least
seven days' prior notice of such public hearing on proposed regulations
shall be published in the official newspapers of the County of Albany.
Any regulations adopted pursuant to this article shall be filed in
the Office of the Clerk of the Albany County Legislature.
The provisions of this article and any regulations promulgated
hereunder shall be enforced by the Director of Weights and Measures
for the County of Albany. The Director of Weights and Measures shall
refer cases of unpaid penalties to the Albany County Attorney for
appropriate legal action.
Upon the expiration of the first six months of operation, the
Chair of the County Legislature shall appoint a three-member review
committee to study this article's strengths and weaknesses and make
appropriate recommendations for amendments to the Finance Committee.
