Section 1: Title

This Act may be cited as the “Consumer Product Pricing Transparency Act of 2024”.

Section 2: Findings

The Legislature finds that:

(a) Consumers have the right to be fully informed about the pricing practices of food and beverage companies to make educated purchasing decisions.

(b) The practice of “shrinkflation” has obscured true product value and pricing from the consumer, necessitating greater corporate transparency.

(c) Providing historical data on product size/weight and inflation-adjusted prices will empower consumers to better understand and react to corporate pricing tactics.

Section 3: Definitions

For the purposes of this Act:

(a) “Company” refers to any entity engaged in the production or distribution of food and beverage products to consumers within the United States.

(b) “Historical data” means any records related to the size/weight/volume of products and their corresponding prices, adjusted for inflation, dating back to 1990 or the company’s founding date, whichever is later.

Section 4: Disclosure Requirements

(a) All companies shall present on their websites, in a table format, historical data for each of their products. This table must include graphs plotting the size/weight/volume against the cost in inflation-adjusted dollars, with the underlying data readily accessible to consumers.

(b) This information must be updated quarterly and summarized annually to display the average weight/size/volume and price for that year, facilitating comparison across all previous years.

Section 5: Verification and Compliance

(a) Companies are required to submit these reports to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or the Consumer Protection Bureau (CPB), where independent auditors will verify the accuracy of the provided data.

(b) Compliance with this Act’s requirements shall be monitored by the aforementioned agencies, with the authority to conduct audits and enforce penalties.

Section 6: Penalties for Non-Compliance

(a) Companies failing to comply with the disclosure requirements of this Act shall face a fine structure as follows:

1. Initial violation: A fine of $10,000 or 1% of the sales of the non-compliant products over the past 12 months, whichever is greater.
2. Second Violation: For a second violation within 3 years of the first, the fine shall be $20,000 or 2% of the sales of the non-compliant products over the past 12 months, whichever is greater.
3. Subsequent Violations: Each additional violation shall incur a fine increased by an additional 50% from the previous amount.

(b) Remediation Period: Companies will have a 3-month period to correct any issues without accruing fines, provided compliance is achieved by the end of this period.

Section 7: Allocation of Funds

Funds collected from fines shall be allocated as follows:

(a) Reinvestment in Consumer Protection Programs: Funding for expanding consumer protection efforts.

(b) Research and Development Funding: Support for research in food safety, nutrition, and public health.

(c) Subsidizing Healthier Food Options: Assistance for making healthier food choices more accessible to all consumers.

(d) Supporting Access to Medications: Funding programs that lower the cost of or provide access to essential medications.

(e) Enhancing Transparency and Information Dissemination: Investment in initiatives that promote transparency and educate the public on food and drug safety.

(f) Emergency Response Funds: Support for rapid response to foodborne illnesses or drug contamination incidents.

(g) Infrastructure Improvements: Funding for the enhancement of infrastructure critical to food safety and drug manufacturing compliance.

Section 8: Accessibility and Presentation

(a) Companies must ensure this information is easily accessible on their websites and presented in a manner understandable to the average consumer, including explanations for significant discrepancies in data or missing data.

Section 9: Implementation Timeline

(a) Companies shall have one year from the enactment of this Act to comply with its requirements. A sliding scale based on the number of products offered by the company will adjust this timeline, with fewer products requiring a shorter timeline and more products necessitating a longer timeline. Companies are free to submit requests to explain the timeline and such requests are to be reviewed by the CPB who has ultimate authority in granting these extensions.

Section 10: Severability

If any provision of this Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

Section 11: Effective Date

This Act shall take effect immediately upon passage, with companies expected to meet the compliance timeline as stipulated in Section 9.

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SEE ALSO

Pt. 1: Unveiling Hidden Trends: The Case for Transparent Pricing in the Food and Beverage Industry

Pt. 3: Balancing the Scales: The Case for the Consumer Product Pricing Transparency Act