BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 482
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 482 (Hill)
As Introduced February 21, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :36-0
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 12-0
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gordon, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Campos, Dickinson, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Eggman, Hagman, Holden, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Maienschein, Mullin, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
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SUMMARY : Deletes the January 1, 2014, sunset date on a
provision of existing law allowing local officials to verify the
accuracy of point-of-sale (POS) transaction systems.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the operator of a business establishment that uses
POS to sell goods or services to consumers to ensure that the
price of each good or service be paid by the consumer is
conspicuously displayed to the consumer at the time the price
is interpreted by the system. (Business and Professions Code
(BPC) Section 13300).
2)Authorizes the board of supervisors of any county, or city and
county that has adopted an ordinance for the purpose of
determining the pricing accuracy of a retail establishment
using a POS system to perform an initial standard inspection
based on the following:
a) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by
collecting a random sample of items that shall include a
maximum of 50% sale items from either:
i) One department of a retail store;
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ii) Multiple areas of a retail store; or,
iii) The entire store.
b) The initial standard inspection shall be performed be
testing a minimum random sample of 10 items for a retail
establishment with three or fewer POS checkout registers;
c) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by
testing a minimum random sample of 25 items for a retail
establishment with four to nine POS checkout registers;
d) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by
testing a minimum random sample of 50 items for retail
establishments with 10 or more POS checkout registers;
e) The sealer shall verify that the lowest advertisement,
posted, marked, displayed or quoted price is the same as
the price displayed or computed by the POS equipment or
printed receipt and specifies the requirement for items
that are not in compliance;
f) The minimum random sample size shall not apply to
inspections of any establishment at which fewer items than
the number specified as the minimum sample size are marked
or displayed with a posted or advertised item price;
g) The maximum percentage of sale item restriction as
specified, shall not apply to inspections of any
establishment at which a marketing or promotional practice
does not enable the random sample as specified; and,
h) The compliance rate percentage of a retail establishment
shall be determined by dividing the number of items in
compliance by the sample size multiplied by 100. (BPC
Section 13350)
3) Provides that enforcement action may be taken for any item
not in compliance. (BPC Section 13350)
4)Authorizes the sealer to reinspect any retail facility that
has a compliance rate of less than 98%. (BPC Section 13350)
5)Authorizes the board of supervisors, by ordinance, to charge a
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POS inspection fee or an annual registration fee as specified.
(BPC Section 13350)
6)Authorizes the board of supervisors, by ordinance, to charge a
resinspection fee as specified. (BPC Section 13350)
7)Authorizes the Attorney General, the district attorney or city
attorney to enforce the regulations of POS. (BPC Section
13301)
8)Defines a POS to mean "any computer or electronic system used
by a retail establishment such as, but not limited to,
Universal Product Code scanners, price lookup codes, or an
electronic price lookup system as a means for determining the
price of the item being purchased by a consumer." (BPC
Section 13352)
9)Repeals the provisions allowing local officials to verify the
pricing accuracy of POS systems on January 1, 2014. (BPC
Section 13357)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, any costs for counties to continue using the required
inspection procedures will be covered by authorized inspection
fees.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill . This bill repeals the sunset provision
allowing local governments to verify the pricing accuracy of
POS systems. Current law authorizes a county or city and
county to charge inspection fees, inspect, and take
enforcement actions for violations of pricing accuracy on
retail POS systems. By removing the sunset date, this bill
extends the authority of counties to continue inspecting POS
systems for pricing accuracy indefinitely. This bill is
sponsored by the author.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "[This] bill is
necessary to ensure that the consumer protections contained in
[AB 889 (Ruskin), Chapter 529, Statutes of 2005] and [AB 1907
(Ruskin), Chapter 434, Statutes of 2008] are in statute
permanently. AB 889 granted counties the authority to inspect
the pricing accuracy of retail [POS] systems and set the
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appropriate fee schedule for doing so."
3)POS systems . Under current law, a POS system is any
electronic device such as a Universal Product Code scanner,
price lookup codes, an electronic price lookup system or any
other device that determines the price of an item being
purchased by a consumer. Many California retailers utilize
POS systems to streamline pricing and inventory controls.
These sophisticated devices help to provide consumers with
accurate pricing information for scanned retail items.
Current law grants county boards of supervisors with the option
to participate in the inspection and enforcement of these
systems to help ensure that the prices posted for consumers
are accurate. Twenty two of the 58 counties in California
currently utilize this authority to inspect POS systems.
Counties may perform standard periodic inspections where the
inspectors sample items depending on the size of the store and
the numbers of POS systems it contains.
In order for an item to be in compliance, the scanned item
must match the lowest advertised, marked, displayed or quoted
price. If a retail establishment does not meet a 98% accuracy
rate, enforcement actions may be taken and the county may
authorize a re-inspection at which time the retailer may be
required to pay a re-inspection fee as determined by the
county. Currently, the law authorizing the inspection process
and setting standards for POS systems is set to repeal on
January 1, 2014. This bill will remove that sunset provision
and allow counties to retain authority to monitor and inspect
POS systems indefinitely.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0001608