pricing; covered goods; requirements.

SB1226 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
pricing; covered goods; requirements.

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1226

Introduced by

Senator
Fernandez

AN
ACT

amending title 44, chapter 9, arizona
revised statutes, by adding article 27; relating to trade practices.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 44, chapter 9, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding article 27, to read:

ARTICLE 27. PRICING of covered
goods

START_STATUTE
44-1383.

Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise
requires:

1. "Actual damages" means
the difference in the price paid by a covered retailer or a covered wholesaler
as a result of a violation of this article.

2. "Channels of trade"
means any distinct and diverse pathway through which covered goods are
marketed, distributed and sold to consumers in the united states, including any
of the following:

(
a
) Traditional
supermarkets.

(
b
) Hypermarkets.

(
c
) Discount
stores.

(
d
) CONVENIENCE
stores.

(
e
) Online or
e-commerce retailers.

(
f
) Specialty
food stores.

(
g
) Mass
merchandisers.

(
h
) Wholesale
clubs.

(
i
) Any other
retail establishment, platform or entity that engages in the sale of covered
goods.

3. "covered goods":

(
a
) Means
either of the following:

(
i
) Any food or
food products for home preparation and consumption.

(
ii
) Seeds or
plants for household garden use to produce food for personal consumption.

(
b
) Does not
include any of the following:

(
i
) Gasoline.

(
ii
) Prescription
drugs.

(
iii
) Tobacco
products.

(
iv
) Alcoholic
beverages.

4. "covered retailer" means
a person that sells covered goods to an end purchaser at one or more physical
locations in this state.

5. "Covered supplier" means
a person that:

(
a
) Produces
and sells covered goods in this state.

(
b
) Sells,
directly or through a person's agent or any third party, covered goods that are
produced or manufactured by the person to covered retailers or covered
wholesalers in an aggregate amount that exceeds $6,000,000,000 per year, which
is adjusted each year by an amount that is equal to a percentage increase in
the consumer price index for all urban consumers that is published by the
united states department of labor, bureau of labor statistics.

6. "Covered wholesaler"
means a person that purchases covered goods for the purpose of reselling or
distributing covered goods to covered retailers in this state.

7. "Dominant covered
retailer" means a covered retailer that:

(
a
) Has annual
retail sales of covered goods in an aggregate amount of more than
$18,000,000,000, which is adjusted for inflation based on the consumer price
index for all urban consumers as published by the United States department of
Labor, bureau of labor statistics.

(
b
) Has at
least one storefront or distribution center that is located in at least
twenty-one states, including this state.

8. "Person" includes both
of the following:

(
a
) Each entity
that a person owns or controls, in whole or in part.

(
b
) Each entity
that controls the person, in whole or in part.

9. "Same covered goods"
means, with respect to two different covered goods, a covered good and any
other covered good sold under the same brand that differs only in quantity or
packaging.

10. "Same terms of sale"
means, with respect to two different agreements, terms of sale that are
identical on a per unit basis, excluding shipping and delivery costs, that may
vary on account of distance, speed or the method of shipping and delivery or
availability of self-distribution.

11. "Terms of sale" means
all substantive terms and conditions of sale that are commonly subject to
negotiation and competition, including price, discounts, rebates, delivery
terms, payment terms, package size, promotional allowances, marketing devices,
merchandising ARRANGEMENTS, terms of distribution and any other similar terms,
considered on a per unit basis as APPROPRIATE.

12. "Volume unit basis"
means the base unit of measurement, not exceeding a truckload, by which
purchase quantities are measured in purchase agreements between a covered
supplier and a covered retailer or covered wholesaler.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
44-1383.01.

Covered suppliers; covered goods; pricing; requirements; attorney
general

A. A covered supplier or a covered
supplier's agent:

1. Shall:

(
a
) Extend the
same terms of sale for covered goods to all covered retailers and covered
wholesalers that purchase the covered goods for the same volume unit basis
sold.

(
b
) Within
fourteen business days after receipt of a written request from a covered
retailer or covered wholesaler that purchased covered goods or received an
offer that includes the terms of sale for the covered goods, provide anonymized
data for the covered goods that were purchased at the same volume unit basis
during the previous one hundred eighty days before the purchase was
made. For the purposes of this subdivision, "anonymized
data":

(
i
) Means
aggregated and deidentified data about the sales transactions.

(
ii
) Includes
the terms of sale for each transaction.

(
iii
) Does not
include a consumer's personally identifiable information.

2. May not refuse to sell covered
goods to a covered retailer or covered wholesaler if:

(
a
) The covered
supplier or the covered supplier's agent charges a different price to a covered
retailer or covered wholesaler based on the channels of trade or for any other
similar reason that is in violation of this article. For the
purposes of this subdivision, "Different price" Means a difference in
price that is based on either of the following calculations:

(
i
) The actual
difference in price based on the quantity sold to a covered retailer or covered
wholesaler.

(
ii
) The price
difference in price based on the terms of sale of a product and is adjusted for
difference in payment schedules or credit terms by applying a time value of
money calculation and is then multiplied by the quantity sold.

(
b
) The covered
retailer is not a dominant covered retailer.

(
c
) The covered
retailer or covered wholesaler has made payments on or has completed payment to
the covered supplier or the covered supplier's agent within the previous twelve
months.

(
d
) The covered
retailer or covered wholesaler made a request to the covered supplier to
provide to same terms of sale to other covered retailers or COVERED
wholesalers.

(
e
) Selling
covered goods that have no commercially reasonable justification.

B. A dominant covered retailer or the
dominant covered retailer's purchasing agent may not impose or require terms of
sale on a covered supplier if the dominant covered retailer knows or reasonably
should know that:

1. The dominant covered retailer or
the dominant covered retailer's purchasing agent will acquire more of the
covered goods than the dominant covered retailer can sell between the regular
purchase intervals.

2. the dominant covered retailer Will
or intends to coerce or induce a covered supplier to violate this article.

C. A person is not liable for a
violation of this article if the person can show by a preponderance of the
evidence that:

1. Any difference in the terms of
sale was predominantly attributable to a covered retailer that engaged in self-distribution
of the covered goods or lowered the overall costs through efficiencies in
distribution or manufacturing.

2. A covered retailer voluntarily
accepted the terms of sale for covered goods that were not the same terms of
sale for another covered retailer in exchange for consideration.� For the
purposes of this paragraph, "voluntarily accepted" means acceptance
that was not done under coercion or duress or as a pretext.

3. The terms of sale applied only to
cases in which there:

(
a
) Was an
actual or imminent deterioration of perishable covered goods.

(
b
) was an
Obsolescence of seasonal covered goods.

(
c
) were
Distress sales under a court process.

(
d
) were Sales
made in good faith if a business was closing or the covered goods were
discontinued.

D. a covered supplier is not liable
for a violation of this article if the covered supplier can show by a
preponderance of the evidence that:

1. The violation was imposed on or
required of the covered supplier by a dominant covered retailer.

2. The covered supplier would have
suffered substantial harm to its business if it refused the demand of the
dominant covered retailer.

3. The covered supplier made a good
faith effort to disclose the dominant covered retailer's conduct to the
attorney general.

E. An act or practice in violation of
this article constitutes an unlawful practice under section 44-1522. The
attorney general may investigate and take appropriate action pursuant to
chapter 10, article 7 of this title.

F. The attorney general or a person
injured by a violation of this article may file suit to:

1. Obtain an injunction to cure a
violation of this section.

2. Obtain a civil penalty in the
amount of not more than three times the actual damages.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Short title

Title 44, chapter 9, article 27,
Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, may be cited as the
"Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness Act".