[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 171 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 171

To make it an unfair practice for any retailer to increase the price of 
 certain consumer commodities once the retailer marks the price on any 
such consumer commodity, and to permit the Federal Trade Commission to 
 order any such retailer to refund any amounts of money obtained by so 
            increasing the price of such consumer commodity.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 1995

   Mrs. Collins of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To make it an unfair practice for any retailer to increase the price of 
 certain consumer commodities once the retailer marks the price on any 
such consumer commodity, and to permit the Federal Trade Commission to 
 order any such retailer to refund any amounts of money obtained by so 
            increasing the price of such consumer commodity.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) it shall be a 
violation of section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 45(a)(1)) for any person, partnership, or corporation--
            (1) engaging in the sale at retail of any consumer 
        commodity which has been distributed in commerce; and
            (2) having the authority to set the price for any consumer 
        commodity,
to increase the price for such consumer commodity once a price is 
affixed by such person, partnership, or corporation to any such 
commodity. To enforce this subsection, the Federal Trade Commission 
shall by regulation require persons, partnerships, and corporations 
engaged in the retail sale of consumer commodities to establish a 
system to audit the prices at which the commodities are first offered 
for sale and the prices at which the commodities are sold.
    (b)(1) In addition to the authority of the Federal Trade Commission 
to issue a cease and desist order pursuant to the provisions of section 
5(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(b)) against a 
person, partnership, or corporation described in subsection (a), the 
Commission may also order the restitution of moneys received by any 
person, partnership, or corporation in violation of subsection (a).
    (2) Any order issued pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) 
shall be subject to the review procedures of section 5 of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).
    (c) The Federal Trade Commission shall, by rule, prescribe 
procedures with respect to the restitution of moneys which may be 
ordered pursuant to subsection (b).
    Sec. 2. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to invalidate or 
restrict any right or remedy pursuant to any State law of any person 
who purchases any consumer commodity.
    Sec. 3. For purposes of this Act--
            (1) The term ``commerce'' means commerce, trade, traffic, 
        transmission, or transportation--
                    (A) between a place in a State and any place 
                outside thereof; or
                    (B) which affects commerce, trade, traffic, 
                transmission, or transportation described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) The term ``consumer commodity'' means any food, drug, 
        device, or cosmetic (as such terms are defined by the Federal 
        Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)), and any other 
        article, product, or commodity of any kind or class which is 
        customarily produced or distributed for sale through retail 
        sales agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by 
        individuals or for use by individuals for purposes of personal 
        care in the performance of services ordinarily rendered within 
        the household, and which usually is consumed or expended in the 
        course of such consumption or use.
            (3) The term ``State'' means a State, the District of 
        Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of 
        the United States.
    Sec. 4. The provisions of this Act shall apply to the pricing by 
any person, partnership, or corporation of any consumer commodity which 
is sold on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

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