Section 20-708.1. Item pricing

a. Definitions. The following terms shall
  have the following meanings for the purpose of this section:
    1. "Stock keeping unit", known in the industry as  "SKU",  shall  mean
  each group of items offered for sale of the same brand name, quantity of
  contents, retail price, and variety within the following categories:
    (a)  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;
    (b) Napkins, facial tissues, toilet tissues, paper towelling  and  any
  disposable  wrapping or container for the storage, handling, serving, or
  disposal of food;
    (c) Detergents, soaps and other cleansing agents; and
    (d) Non-prescription drugs, feminine hygiene products and  health  and
  beauty aids.
    2.  "Stock  keeping  item"  shall mean each individual item of a stock
  keeping unit offered for sale. This shall include  two  or  more  pieces
  packaged for sale together.
    3.  "Retail store" shall mean a store engaged in selling stock keeping
  units at retail. 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. A retail store shall not include any
  store which:
    (a) Has as its only full-time  employee  the  owner  thereof,  or  the
  parent,  spouse, domestic partner or child of the owner, and in addition
  thereto not more than two full-time employees; or
    (b) Had annual gross sales of stock  keeping  items  in  the  previous
  calendar  year of less than two million dollars, 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 of stock keeping items in the previous calendar year of two
  million dollars or more; or
    (c) Engages primarily in the sale  of  food  for  consumption  on  the
  premises  or  in a specialty trade which the commissioner determines, by
  rule, would be inappropriate for item pricing.
    4. "Item price" shall mean the tag, stamp or mark affixed to  a  stock
  keeping  item  which  sets  forth,  in arabic numerals, the retail price
  thereof.
    5. "Advertised price" shall mean the price of  a  stock  keeping  unit
  which  a  retail  store  has  caused  to  be  disseminated  by  means of
  promotional methods such as an in-store sign,  or  newspaper,  circular,
  television or radio advertising.
    6.  "Shelf  price"  shall mean the tag or sign placed at each point of
  display of a stock keeping unit, which clearly  sets  forth  the  retail
  price of the stock keeping items within that stock keeping unit.
    7.  "Computer-assisted  checkout  system"  shall  mean  any electronic
  device, computer system or machine which indicates the selling price  of
  a  stock  keeping item by interpreting its universal product code, or an
  in-house product code, or by use of its price look-up function.
    8. "Price look-up function" shall mean the capability of any  checkout
  system  to  determine the retail price of a stock keeping item by way of
  the manual entry into the system of  a  code  number  assigned  to  that
  particular  stock  keeping  unit  by  the  retail store or by way of the
  checkout operator's consultation of a file maintained at  the  point  of
  sale.
    9. "Inspector" shall mean the the commissioner or his or her designee.

    b.  Item pricing required. Except as provided in subdivision c of this
  section, every person, firm,  partnership,  corporation  or  association
  which  sells,  offers  for sale or exposes for sale in a retail store, a
  stock keeping unit, shall disclose to the consumer  the  item  price  of
  each  stock keeping item, by causing the item price to be conspicuously,
  clearly and plainly marked, stamped, tagged or affixed thereto.
    c. Certain items exempted. The following stock keeping items need  not
  be  item  priced  as  provided in subdivision b of this section provided
  that a shelf price and a price look-up function are maintained for  such
  stock keeping items:
    1. Milk.
    2. Stock keeping items which are under three cubic inches in size, and
  weigh less than three ounces, and are priced under one dollar.
    3. Eggs.
    4. Fresh produce not packaged for final retail sale.
    5. Products sold through a vending machine.
    6. Food sold for consumption on the premises.
    7. Snack foods such as cakes, gum, candies, chips and nuts offered for
  sale in single packages and weighing five ounces or less.
    8. Cigarettes, cigars, tobacco and tobacco products.
    9. Food offered for sale in bulk.
    10. Frozen juice.
    11. Ice cream.
    12. Frozen foods packaged for final retail sale in plastic bags.
    13. Stock keeping items on sale for one week or less, where such stock
  keeping items are not otherwise item priced, are located in a segregated
  display  at  the  end  of an aisle, and the sale period, the name of the
  product and the advertised price are clearly and conspicuously posted on
  a sign at the point of display.  Failure  to  display  this  information
  shall be deemed a deceptive practice under section 20-701 of this code.
    14. Baby food packaged in jars.
    d.  Scanner accuracy. In a retail store with a laser scanning or other
  computer-assisted checkout system, an inspector shall  be  permitted  to
  compare  the disclosed retail price of any one stock keeping item within
  any stock keeping unit sold in the retail store, whether or  not  exempt
  under  subdivision  c  of this section, not to exceed five hundred stock
  keeping items at any one inspection, with the programmed computer price.
  The retail store shall  provide  such  access  to  the  computer  as  is
  necessary  for  the  inspector  to make the determination. The inspector
  shall also make note of undercharges on the inspection  report.  In  the
  event  that  the  programmed  computer  price exceeds the lowest price a
  retail store is permitted to charge  for  a  stock  keeping  item  under
  subdivision e of this section, this shall be deemed a deceptive practice
  under section 20-701 of this code.
    e. Price accuracy. No retail store shall charge a retail price for any
  stock  keeping  item,  whether or not exempt under subdivision c of this
  section, which exceeds the lower of any item, shelf, sale or  advertised
  price of such stock keeping item.
    f.  Enforcement,  penalties.  1. Upon the request of an inspector, the
  retail store representative shall afford the  inspector  access  to  the
  test  mode  of  the  checkout system in use at that retail store or to a
  comparable function of such system and to the retail  price  information
  contained in a price look-up function. No more than one inspection shall
  be conducted in any twenty-four hour period.
    2. In addition to the enforcement powers prescribed in sections 20-703
  and  20-704  of  this  code, the commissioner may, upon due notice, hold
  hearings to determine whether  violations  of  the  provisions  of  this
  section  have occurred. Such notice shall contain a concise statement of

  the facts constituting the alleged violation and  shall  set  forth  the
  date,  time  and  place of the hearing. Upon a finding of a violation of
  the provisions of this section, the commissioner shall be authorized  to
  impose a civil penalty as follows:
    (a)  upon  a first inspection, up to twenty-five dollars for the first
  twenty violations and up to  fifty  dollars  for  the  twenty-first  and
  successive  violations,  total  violations  not  to  exceed two thousand
  dollars.
    (b) upon a second or subsequent inspection within a two  week  period,
  up to fifty dollars for the first twenty continued violations, and up to
  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  twenty-first  and  successive continued
  violations,  total  violations  issued  not  to  exceed  eight  thousand
  dollars.
    3.  Each  failure  to  comply  with subdivision b of this section with
  respect to any one  stock  keeping  unit  shall  constitute  a  separate
  violation,  provided,  however,  that  no violation shall be found where
  less than five stock keeping items of a particular  stock  keeping  unit
  lack clearly readable item prices. Following an initial inspection, each
  inspection   that  finds  a  continuing  violation  with  respect  to  a
  particular stock keeping unit cited within the  previous  fourteen  days
  shall constitute a separate continued violation.
    g.  Rules. The commissioner may promulgate such rules as he or she may
  deem necessary  or  appropriate  to  effectuate  the  purposes  of  this
  section.