Consumer Protection Committee
Filed: 3/13/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 296
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 296, AS AMENDED, by | ||||||
3 | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
4 | following:
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5 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
6 | Retail Consumer Protection Act. | ||||||
7 | Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds that there | ||||||
8 | is a proliferation of computerized pricing systems in retail | ||||||
9 | stores. The General Assembly further finds that some retail | ||||||
10 | customers are being overcharged due to inadequate management | ||||||
11 | oversight, computer errors, and other problems. The General | ||||||
12 | Assembly further finds that there are insufficient penalties | ||||||
13 | and remedies available to customers who are victims of | ||||||
14 | overcharging. | ||||||
15 | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
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1 | "Department" means the Department of Agriculture. | ||||||
2 | "Director" means the Director of Agriculture. | ||||||
3 | "Person" means both the singular and plural, as the case | ||||||
4 | demands, and includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, | ||||||
5 | companies, societies, and associations. | ||||||
6 | "Retail commerce" means a retail sale of a commodity in a | ||||||
7 | facility with more than 10,000 square feet, but does
not | ||||||
8 | include wholesale, business-to-business, or barter and | ||||||
9 | exchange transactions. | ||||||
10 | "Overcharging" means the demand for a payment that is in | ||||||
11 | excess of the lowest advertised or displayed price for that | ||||||
12 | commodity. | ||||||
13 | "Payment station" means each location where a person pays | ||||||
14 | for a retail purchase. | ||||||
15 | "Sealer" has the same meaning as defined in Section 2 of | ||||||
16 | the Weights and Measures Act. | ||||||
17 | Section 15. Business practices against overcharging.
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18 | (a) All businesses engaged in retail commerce shall have at | ||||||
19 | least one designated employee who has the responsibility for | ||||||
20 | ensuring the accuracy of all posted and advertised prices and | ||||||
21 | for resolving any customer complaints related to the accuracy | ||||||
22 | of prices. | ||||||
23 | (b) The person designated in subsection (a) of this Section | ||||||
24 | shall keep a written record of any customer complaints received | ||||||
25 | concerning any overcharging or other acts of consumer fraud and |
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1 | shall make those records available to investigators of the | ||||||
2 | Department of Agriculture Bureau of Weights and Measures upon | ||||||
3 | request. | ||||||
4 | (c) Any person engaged in retail commerce that is alerted | ||||||
5 | by a customer of an overcharging shall report to the person | ||||||
6 | designated under subsection (a) of this Section, who shall | ||||||
7 | investigate the alleged error. If the customer was charged more | ||||||
8 | than the advertised or posted price, and the value of the item | ||||||
9 | in question was less than $3, the customer shall be given the | ||||||
10 | item for free. If the value of the item in question was $3 or | ||||||
11 | more, the customer shall be sold the item at the correct price | ||||||
12 | and $3 shall be deducted from the price charged. The person | ||||||
13 | designated under subsection (a) of this Section shall further | ||||||
14 | ensure that the correct price is posted and programmed into all | ||||||
15 | payment systems within a reasonable time. | ||||||
16 | Section 20. Overcharging oversight.
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17 | (a) The Department shall maintain a hotline staffed during | ||||||
18 | normal business hours to receive customer complaints and | ||||||
19 | compliments about retail overcharging and undercharging. Any | ||||||
20 | person engaged in retail commerce in the State of Illinois | ||||||
21 | shall post the Department's hotline phone number on a sticker | ||||||
22 | or sign at each payment station or shall print the number on | ||||||
23 | any receipt given to a customer. If the hotline number is | ||||||
24 | displayed on a sticker or sign, it must be written in at least | ||||||
25 | 12-point font and be conspicuously posted so that it can be |
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1 | plainly viewed by a customer at the time of payment. | ||||||
2 | (b) The Director shall provide an annual written report to | ||||||
3 | the Attorney General and the Governor describing the activities | ||||||
4 | of himself or herself and any city sealers to implement this | ||||||
5 | Act, and any substitute local ordinances. The report shall be | ||||||
6 | delivered and also posted on the Department's website no later | ||||||
7 | than July 10 of each year. All persons engaged in retail | ||||||
8 | commerce within this State and all city sealers shall provide | ||||||
9 | any necessary records for the compilation of this report. | ||||||
10 | (c) The Director shall adopt regulations to implement this | ||||||
11 | Act that shall be based upon commonly accepted national | ||||||
12 | standards such as those issued by the National Institute of | ||||||
13 | Standards and Technology. | ||||||
14 | Section 25. Penalties. In addition to any other remedies | ||||||
15 | available under the Weights and Measures Act, the Department | ||||||
16 | may assess penalties for overcharging up to $500 per violation | ||||||
17 | for the 6th and each subsequent violation within a 12-month | ||||||
18 | period.
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19 | Section 30. Local implementation. Cities that have sealers | ||||||
20 | of weights and measures appointed pursuant to Section 17 of the | ||||||
21 | Weights and Measures Act may opt by majority vote of the city | ||||||
22 | council to adopt the provisions of this Act or to substitute | ||||||
23 | local ordinances for those in this Act.
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1 | Section 300. The Weights and Measures Act is amended by | ||||||
2 | changing Section 19 as follows:
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3 | (225 ILCS 470/19) (from Ch. 147, par. 119)
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4 | Sec. 19. The sealer of a city, and each of his deputy | ||||||
5 | sealers when acting
under his instructions and at his | ||||||
6 | direction, has the same powers and duties
within the city for | ||||||
7 | which appointed as are conferred upon the director by
Sections | ||||||
8 | 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 56 of this Act and those powers and | ||||||
9 | duties conferred under Sections 20 and 30 of the Retail | ||||||
10 | Consumer Protection Act . With respect to
Section 10, in cities | ||||||
11 | of less than 200,000 population, the powers and
duties shall be | ||||||
12 | strictly limited to weighing and measuring devices used in
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13 | retail trade including, for example, weighing scales of a | ||||||
14 | nominal capacity
not greater than 400 pounds, retail | ||||||
15 | liquid-measuring devices, taximeters,
odometers, | ||||||
16 | fabric-measuring devices and cordage-measuring devices.
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17 | The city inspector of weights and measures shall keep a | ||||||
18 | complete record
of all his official acts and shall submit an | ||||||
19 | annual report to the council
of the city, and an annual report | ||||||
20 | (on July 1) under oath to the Director of
Agriculture on blanks | ||||||
21 | furnished by him, and any special reports that the
Director of | ||||||
22 | Agriculture may request.
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23 | (Source: Laws 1963, p. 3433.)".
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