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Consumer Protection Committee
Filed: 3/13/2007
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 296
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 296, AS AMENDED, by |
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| replacing everything after the enacting clause with the |
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| following:
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| "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
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| Retail Consumer Protection Act. |
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| Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds that there |
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| is a proliferation of computerized pricing systems in retail |
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| stores. The General Assembly further finds that some retail |
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| customers are being overcharged due to inadequate management |
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| oversight, computer errors, and other problems. The General |
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| Assembly further finds that there are insufficient penalties |
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| and remedies available to customers who are victims of |
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| overcharging. |
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| Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
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| "Department" means the Department of Agriculture. |
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| "Director" means the Director of Agriculture. |
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| "Person" means both the singular and plural, as the case |
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| demands, and includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, |
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| companies, societies, and associations. |
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| "Retail commerce" means a retail sale of a commodity in a |
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| facility with more than 10,000 square feet, but does
not |
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| include wholesale, business-to-business, or barter and |
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| exchange transactions. |
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| "Overcharging" means the demand for a payment that is in |
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| excess of the lowest advertised or displayed price for that |
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| commodity. |
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| "Payment station" means each location where a person pays |
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| for a retail purchase. |
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| "Sealer" has the same meaning as defined in Section 2 of |
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| the Weights and Measures Act. |
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| Section 15. Business practices against overcharging.
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| (a) All businesses engaged in retail commerce shall have at |
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| least one designated employee who has the responsibility for |
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| ensuring the accuracy of all posted and advertised prices and |
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| for resolving any customer complaints related to the accuracy |
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| of prices. |
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| (b) The person designated in subsection (a) of this Section |
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| shall keep a written record of any customer complaints received |
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| concerning any overcharging or other acts of consumer fraud and |
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| shall make those records available to investigators of the |
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| Department of Agriculture Bureau of Weights and Measures upon |
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| request. |
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| (c) Any person engaged in retail commerce that is alerted |
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| by a customer of an overcharging shall report to the person |
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| designated under subsection (a) of this Section, who shall |
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| investigate the alleged error. If the customer was charged more |
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| than the advertised or posted price, and the value of the item |
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| in question was less than $3, the customer shall be given the |
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| item for free. If the value of the item in question was $3 or |
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| more, the customer shall be sold the item at the correct price |
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| and $3 shall be deducted from the price charged. The person |
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| designated under subsection (a) of this Section shall further |
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| ensure that the correct price is posted and programmed into all |
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| payment systems within a reasonable time. |
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| Section 20. Overcharging oversight.
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| (a) The Department shall maintain a hotline staffed during |
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| normal business hours to receive customer complaints and |
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| compliments about retail overcharging and undercharging. Any |
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| person engaged in retail commerce in the State of Illinois |
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| shall post the Department's hotline phone number on a sticker |
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| or sign at each payment station or shall print the number on |
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| any receipt given to a customer. If the hotline number is |
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| displayed on a sticker or sign, it must be written in at least |
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| 12-point font and be conspicuously posted so that it can be |
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| plainly viewed by a customer at the time of payment. |
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| (b) The Director shall provide an annual written report to |
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| the Attorney General and the Governor describing the activities |
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| of himself or herself and any city sealers to implement this |
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| Act, and any substitute local ordinances. The report shall be |
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| delivered and also posted on the Department's website no later |
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| than July 10 of each year. All persons engaged in retail |
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| commerce within this State and all city sealers shall provide |
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| any necessary records for the compilation of this report. |
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| (c) The Director shall adopt regulations to implement this |
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| Act that shall be based upon commonly accepted national |
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| standards such as those issued by the National Institute of |
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| Standards and Technology. |
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| Section 25. Penalties. In addition to any other remedies |
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| available under the Weights and Measures Act, the Department |
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| may assess penalties for overcharging up to $500 per violation |
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| for the 6th and each subsequent violation within a 12-month |
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| period.
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| Section 30. Local implementation. Cities that have sealers |
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| of weights and measures appointed pursuant to Section 17 of the |
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| Weights and Measures Act may opt by majority vote of the city |
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| council to adopt the provisions of this Act or to substitute |
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| local ordinances for those in this Act.
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| Section 300. The Weights and Measures Act is amended by |
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| changing Section 19 as follows:
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| (225 ILCS 470/19) (from Ch. 147, par. 119)
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| Sec. 19. The sealer of a city, and each of his deputy |
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| sealers when acting
under his instructions and at his |
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| direction, has the same powers and duties
within the city for |
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| which appointed as are conferred upon the director by
Sections |
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| 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 56 of this Act and those powers and |
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| duties conferred under Sections 20 and 30 of the Retail |
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| Consumer Protection Act . With respect to
Section 10, in cities |
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| of less than 200,000 population, the powers and
duties shall be |
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| strictly limited to weighing and measuring devices used in
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| retail trade including, for example, weighing scales of a |
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| nominal capacity
not greater than 400 pounds, retail |
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| liquid-measuring devices, taximeters,
odometers, |
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| fabric-measuring devices and cordage-measuring devices.
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| The city inspector of weights and measures shall keep a |
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| complete record
of all his official acts and shall submit an |
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| annual report to the council
of the city, and an annual report |
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| (on July 1) under oath to the Director of
Agriculture on blanks |
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| furnished by him, and any special reports that the
Director of |
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| Agriculture may request.
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| (Source: Laws 1963, p. 3433.)".
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