HOUSE BILL NO. 5137

A bill to amend 2011 PA 15, entitled

"Shopping reform and modernization act,"

by amending sections 9 and 12 (MCL 445.319 and 445.322).

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 9. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4), this section applies to a sale at retail that meets all of the following conditions:

(a) There is a price displayed for the consumer item.

(b) The sale is recorded by an automatic checkout system.

(c) The buyer is given a receipt that describes the item and states the price charged for the item.

(2) Before bringing or joining in an action under section 12(2), within not later than 30 days after purchasing a consumer item, a buyer who suffers a loss because the price charged for the item is more than the price displayed for that item shall notify the seller in person or in writing that the price charged is more than the price displayed for that item. The notice shall must include evidence of the loss suffered by the buyer. If the seller pays the buyer 1 of the following amounts within 2 days after the seller receives notification under this subsection, the buyer is barred from any further recovery for that loss:

(a) Unless subdivision (b) applies, an amount equal to the difference between the price displayed and the price charged for the consumer item, plus an amount equal to 10 times that difference but that is not less than $1.00 $10.00 or more than $5.00.$50.00.

(b) If a loss is suffered by a buyer on 2 or more identical consumer items in a single transaction, an amount equal to the difference between the price displayed and the price charged for each of those identical items, plus an amount equal to 10 times that difference for 1 of the identical items but that is not less than $1.00 $10.00 or more than $5.00.$50.00.

(3) If a seller does not pay a buyer who suffers a loss described in subsection (2) the amount described in that subsection for that loss, the buyer may bring or join in an action against the seller under section 12(2).

(4) This section does not apply to a sale at retail in which the seller intentionally charges more for a consumer item than the price displayed for the item.

(5) Beginning on January 1, 2028, the state treasurer shall adjust the amounts in subsection (2) by an amount determined by the state treasurer to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in the Detroit Consumer Price Index.

(6) As used in this section and section 12, "Detroit Consumer Price Index" means the most comprehensive index of consumer prices available for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.

Sec. 12. (1) Whether or not a person seeks damages or has an adequate remedy at law, a person may bring an action to do either or both of the following if the attorney general or prosecuting attorney fails to initiate action within not later than 60 days after receiving notice of an alleged violation of this act:

(a) Obtain a declaratory judgment that an act or practice violates this act.

(b) Enjoin by temporary or permanent injunction a person that is engaging or is about to engage in an act or practice that violates this act.

(2) Except as provided in section 9, a person that suffers a loss as a result of a violation of this act may bring an individual or a class action to recover actual damages or $250.00, $500.00, whichever is greater, for each day on which a violation of this act is found, together with reasonable attorneys' attorney fees that do not exceed $300.00 in an individual action.

(3) Beginning on January 1, 2028, the state treasurer shall adjust the amount of actual damages in subsection (2) by an amount determined by the state treasurer to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in the Detroit Consumer Price Index.