Legislation
SECTION 214-H
Unit pricing
Agriculture & Markets (AGM) CHAPTER 69, ARTICLE 17
§ 214-h. Unit pricing. 1. Consumer information required. Each person
who sells, offers or exposes for sale in a retail store a consumer
commodity shall disclose to the consumer the unit price and the total
price of the commodity as provided in this section.
2. Definitions. a. "Consumer commodities" shall mean the following,
however packaged or contained:
(1) 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
(2) napkins, facial tissues, toilet tissues, foil wrapping, plastic
wrapping, paper toweling, disposable plates; and
(3) detergents, soaps and other cleansing agents; and
(4) non-prescription drugs, female hygiene products and toiletries.
b. "Retail store" shall mean a store which sells consumer commodities
at retail, which store is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for
consumption on the premises, or which is not primarily engaged in a
specialty trade which the commissioner determines, by regulation, would
be inappropriate for unit pricing. An establishment which sells consumer
commodities only to its members shall be deemed to be included within
this definition unless the members must pay a direct fee to qualify for
membership and the establishment is not required to collect sales tax on
transactions with members, pursuant to article twenty-eight of the tax
law.
c. "Unit price" of a consumer commodity shall mean the price per
measure.
d. "Price per measure" shall mean:
(1) price per pound for commodities whose net quantity is expressed in
units of weight, except for such commodities whose net weight is less
than one ounce which shall be expressed as price per ounce and
commodities in powdered form which purport to be or are represented for
special dietary use solely as a food for infants by reason of its
simulation of human milk or suitability as a complete or partial
substitute for human milk which shall be expressed as price per
reconstituted fluid ounce; provided that the same unit of measure is
used for the same commodity in all sizes;
(2) price per pint or quart for commodities whose net quantity is
stated in fluid ounces, pints, quarts or gallons or a combination
thereof, except for such commodities in concentrated liquid or ready to
feed form which purport to be or are represented for special dietary use
solely as a food for infants by reason of its simulation of human milk
or suitability as a complete or partial substitute for human milk which
shall be expressed as price per reconstituted fluid ounce for
commodities in concentrated liquid form and price per fluid ounce for
commodities in ready to feed form; provided that the same unit of
measure is used for the same commodity in all sizes sold in the retail
establishment;
(3) price per one hundred for commodities whose net quantity is
expressed by count, except as otherwise provided by regulation;
(4) price per foot for commodities whose net quantity is stated in
units of length, except for such commodities whose net quantity exceeds
one hundred feet, which shall be expressed as price per one hundred
feet, and the "ply" count, if any, provided that the same unit of
measure is used for the same commodity in all sizes;
(5) price per square foot or square yard, as appropriate, for
commodities whose net quantity is expressed in units of area and the
"ply" count, if any, provided that the same unit of measure is used for
the same commodity in all sizes; or
(6) such other price per measure, including metric equivalents of the
customary measures, as the commissioner shall by regulation permit. The
commissioner shall establish such metric equivalents whenever he
determines that any commodity subject to the provisions of this section
is being sold, offered or exposed for sale by metric measure.
3. Exemptions. a. The provisions of this section shall not apply to
the following consumer commodities:
(1) food sold for consumption on the premises;
(2) prepackaged food containing separate and identifiable kinds of
food segregated by physical division within the package; and any other
foods for which the commissioner determines, by rules and regulation,
that unit pricing would not be meaningful;
(3) any food which is primarily or exclusively a gourmet or specialty
food, provided that the commissioner determines by regulation that unit
pricing would be impractical for such food, and provided further that
such food is segregated and displayed as a gourmet or specialty food;
(4) any commodity whose net quantity as offered for sale is one pound,
one ounce, one pint or quart, one hundred count, one foot, one hundred
feet, one square foot, one square yard or equivalent metric units
established by the commissioner, provided that it has the retail price
marked plainly thereon;
(5) milk, and other similar low fat products such as two percent milk,
one percent milk and skim milk, cream, melloream and vegetable oil blend
whose net quantity as offered for sale is one half pint, one pint, one
quart, one half gallon, one gallon, one half liter, one liter; frozen
desserts such as ice cream, light ice cream, low-fat ice cream, fat-free
ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt, and any other product similar
in appearance, odor and taste to such products whose net quantity as
offered for sale is one half pint, one pint, one quart, one half gallon,
one gallon, and multiples of quarts and gallons; and butter, vegetable
spread, oleo margarine and margarine whose net quantity is one fourth
pound, one half pound, one pound or multiples of one pound, one hundred
twenty-five grams, two hundred fifty grams, five hundred grams or
multiples of five hundred grams, flour whose net quantity as offered for
sale is in five or ten pound bags;
(6) fresh food produce.
b. The provisions of this section shall not apply to convenience
stores which include small stores which typically sell motor fuel,
tobacco products, fast food and beverages and do not offer sufficient
quantity of consumer commodities to make unit pricing useful to
consumers or to any retail store having had annual gross sales of
consumer commodities in the previous calendar year of less than two and
one-half million dollars, unless the store is a part of a network of
subsidiaries, affiliates or other member stores, under direct or
indirect common control, with five or more stores located in New York,
which, as a group, had annual gross sales the previous calendar year of
two and one-half million dollars or more of consumer commodities.
4. Means of disclosure. A consumer commodity sold, or offered for sale
or exposed for sale, subject to this section, shall have the unit price
and total price disclosed to the consumer in one of the following ways:
a. if the item is conspicuously visible to the consumer, by the
attachment of a stamp, tag or label directly under the item on the shelf
on which the item is displayed, or, in the case of refrigerated items
not displayed on shelves, in a manner to be prescribed by regulation; or
b. if the item is not conspicuously visible to the consumer, by a sign
or list conspicuously placed near the point of procurement, or by
affixing the unit price and total price on the commodity itself.
5. The commissioner may promulgate regulations to effectuate this
section.
6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with or
limit section one hundred ninety of this chapter.
7. Violations and penalties. a. A violation of this section shall be
subject to the applicable penalties of this chapter except for the
penalties specified in section forty-one thereof.
For purposes of this section, each group of identical consumer
commodities for which on any single day the total selling price or price
per measure is not displayed in accordance with this section or the
regulations promulgated thereunder shall be considered a violation of
this section. Improper unit pricing caused by nonintentional technical
errors, however, shall not constitute a violation.
b. Each group of units not unit priced or improperly unit priced shall
constitute a violation. Each individual unit, however, not unit priced
or improperly unit priced shall not constitute a violation unless
displayed alone.
c. Each day a violation is continued shall constitute a separate
violation.
d. The provisions of this section and the regulations promulgated
hereunder may be enforced concurrently by the director of a municipal
consumer affairs office or a municipal director of weights and measures.
8. Preemption. Except as provided in paragraph b of subdivision three
of this section, any local law, ordinance, rule or regulation relating
to labeling, displaying or other disclosure of the price per measure of
any commodity must be consistent with the provisions of this section and
the rules and regulations adopted hereunder.
who sells, offers or exposes for sale in a retail store a consumer
commodity shall disclose to the consumer the unit price and the total
price of the commodity as provided in this section.
2. Definitions. a. "Consumer commodities" shall mean the following,
however packaged or contained:
(1) 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
(2) napkins, facial tissues, toilet tissues, foil wrapping, plastic
wrapping, paper toweling, disposable plates; and
(3) detergents, soaps and other cleansing agents; and
(4) non-prescription drugs, female hygiene products and toiletries.
b. "Retail store" shall mean a store which sells consumer commodities
at retail, which store is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for
consumption on the premises, or which is not primarily engaged in a
specialty trade which the commissioner determines, by regulation, would
be inappropriate for unit pricing. An establishment which sells consumer
commodities only to its members shall be deemed to be included within
this definition unless the members must pay a direct fee to qualify for
membership and the establishment is not required to collect sales tax on
transactions with members, pursuant to article twenty-eight of the tax
law.
c. "Unit price" of a consumer commodity shall mean the price per
measure.
d. "Price per measure" shall mean:
(1) price per pound for commodities whose net quantity is expressed in
units of weight, except for such commodities whose net weight is less
than one ounce which shall be expressed as price per ounce and
commodities in powdered form which purport to be or are represented for
special dietary use solely as a food for infants by reason of its
simulation of human milk or suitability as a complete or partial
substitute for human milk which shall be expressed as price per
reconstituted fluid ounce; provided that the same unit of measure is
used for the same commodity in all sizes;
(2) price per pint or quart for commodities whose net quantity is
stated in fluid ounces, pints, quarts or gallons or a combination
thereof, except for such commodities in concentrated liquid or ready to
feed form which purport to be or are represented for special dietary use
solely as a food for infants by reason of its simulation of human milk
or suitability as a complete or partial substitute for human milk which
shall be expressed as price per reconstituted fluid ounce for
commodities in concentrated liquid form and price per fluid ounce for
commodities in ready to feed form; provided that the same unit of
measure is used for the same commodity in all sizes sold in the retail
establishment;
(3) price per one hundred for commodities whose net quantity is
expressed by count, except as otherwise provided by regulation;
(4) price per foot for commodities whose net quantity is stated in
units of length, except for such commodities whose net quantity exceeds
one hundred feet, which shall be expressed as price per one hundred
feet, and the "ply" count, if any, provided that the same unit of
measure is used for the same commodity in all sizes;
(5) price per square foot or square yard, as appropriate, for
commodities whose net quantity is expressed in units of area and the
"ply" count, if any, provided that the same unit of measure is used for
the same commodity in all sizes; or
(6) such other price per measure, including metric equivalents of the
customary measures, as the commissioner shall by regulation permit. The
commissioner shall establish such metric equivalents whenever he
determines that any commodity subject to the provisions of this section
is being sold, offered or exposed for sale by metric measure.
3. Exemptions. a. The provisions of this section shall not apply to
the following consumer commodities:
(1) food sold for consumption on the premises;
(2) prepackaged food containing separate and identifiable kinds of
food segregated by physical division within the package; and any other
foods for which the commissioner determines, by rules and regulation,
that unit pricing would not be meaningful;
(3) any food which is primarily or exclusively a gourmet or specialty
food, provided that the commissioner determines by regulation that unit
pricing would be impractical for such food, and provided further that
such food is segregated and displayed as a gourmet or specialty food;
(4) any commodity whose net quantity as offered for sale is one pound,
one ounce, one pint or quart, one hundred count, one foot, one hundred
feet, one square foot, one square yard or equivalent metric units
established by the commissioner, provided that it has the retail price
marked plainly thereon;
(5) milk, and other similar low fat products such as two percent milk,
one percent milk and skim milk, cream, melloream and vegetable oil blend
whose net quantity as offered for sale is one half pint, one pint, one
quart, one half gallon, one gallon, one half liter, one liter; frozen
desserts such as ice cream, light ice cream, low-fat ice cream, fat-free
ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt, and any other product similar
in appearance, odor and taste to such products whose net quantity as
offered for sale is one half pint, one pint, one quart, one half gallon,
one gallon, and multiples of quarts and gallons; and butter, vegetable
spread, oleo margarine and margarine whose net quantity is one fourth
pound, one half pound, one pound or multiples of one pound, one hundred
twenty-five grams, two hundred fifty grams, five hundred grams or
multiples of five hundred grams, flour whose net quantity as offered for
sale is in five or ten pound bags;
(6) fresh food produce.
b. The provisions of this section shall not apply to convenience
stores which include small stores which typically sell motor fuel,
tobacco products, fast food and beverages and do not offer sufficient
quantity of consumer commodities to make unit pricing useful to
consumers or to any retail store having had annual gross sales of
consumer commodities in the previous calendar year of less than two and
one-half million dollars, unless the store is a part of a network of
subsidiaries, affiliates or other member stores, under direct or
indirect common control, with five or more stores located in New York,
which, as a group, had annual gross sales the previous calendar year of
two and one-half million dollars or more of consumer commodities.
4. Means of disclosure. A consumer commodity sold, or offered for sale
or exposed for sale, subject to this section, shall have the unit price
and total price disclosed to the consumer in one of the following ways:
a. if the item is conspicuously visible to the consumer, by the
attachment of a stamp, tag or label directly under the item on the shelf
on which the item is displayed, or, in the case of refrigerated items
not displayed on shelves, in a manner to be prescribed by regulation; or
b. if the item is not conspicuously visible to the consumer, by a sign
or list conspicuously placed near the point of procurement, or by
affixing the unit price and total price on the commodity itself.
5. The commissioner may promulgate regulations to effectuate this
section.
6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with or
limit section one hundred ninety of this chapter.
7. Violations and penalties. a. A violation of this section shall be
subject to the applicable penalties of this chapter except for the
penalties specified in section forty-one thereof.
For purposes of this section, each group of identical consumer
commodities for which on any single day the total selling price or price
per measure is not displayed in accordance with this section or the
regulations promulgated thereunder shall be considered a violation of
this section. Improper unit pricing caused by nonintentional technical
errors, however, shall not constitute a violation.
b. Each group of units not unit priced or improperly unit priced shall
constitute a violation. Each individual unit, however, not unit priced
or improperly unit priced shall not constitute a violation unless
displayed alone.
c. Each day a violation is continued shall constitute a separate
violation.
d. The provisions of this section and the regulations promulgated
hereunder may be enforced concurrently by the director of a municipal
consumer affairs office or a municipal director of weights and measures.
8. Preemption. Except as provided in paragraph b of subdivision three
of this section, any local law, ordinance, rule or regulation relating
to labeling, displaying or other disclosure of the price per measure of
any commodity must be consistent with the provisions of this section and
the rules and regulations adopted hereunder.