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HB465 • 2026

RELATING TO DYNAMIC PRICING.

RELATING TO DYNAMIC PRICING.

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Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
GRANDINETTI, BELATTI, IWAMOTO, PERRUSO, POEPOE, TODD
Last action
2025-12-08
Official status
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details on how enforcement will occur or if there are any exemptions.

Prohibition on Dynamic Pricing for SNAP and WIC Food Sales

This bill prohibits retailers from using dynamic pricing when selling food that can be paid for with SNAP or WIC benefits.

What This Bill Does

  • Forbids retailers from using dynamic pricing in the sale of food sold, or qualifying to be sold, as part of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Foods Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
  • Establishes civil fines of up to $5,000 per item per day for violating this rule.
  • Imposes administrative fines ranging from $500 to $1,000 for repeated violations.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Retailers who sell food that can be paid for with SNAP or WIC benefits.
  • People using SNAP and WIC benefits to buy food.

Terms To Know

Dynamic pricing
Changing prices based on factors like demand, season, consumer data, or other market conditions.
SNAP
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a government program that helps people buy food.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the fines will be enforced.
  • It is unclear if there are any exemptions or exceptions to this ban.

Bill History

  1. 2025-12-08 D

    Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

  2. 2025-01-21 H

    Referred to HSH, CPC, JHA, referral sheet 2

  3. 2025-01-21 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  4. 2025-01-17 H

    Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO DYNAMIC PRICING.
Dynamic Pricing; Food; Prohibition
Prohibits retailers from using dynamic pricing in the sale of food that is sold, or qualifies to be sold, as part of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Special Supplemental Foods Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Establishes fines.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB465

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

465

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to dynamic pricing
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that the increasing
cost of groceries and basic necessities is placing a strain on Hawaii's
residents.
�
Many individuals often have
to carefully weigh the cost of their purchases, whether it is an item like milk
or fresh produce.
�
In Hawaii, some residents
must spend over seventeen per cent of their household budget to put a meal on
the table, which is significantly higher than the national average of twelve
per cent, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
�
Furthermore, the Hawaii Foodbank reports that
nearly one in three households is food-insecure, meaning that they do not have
access to sufficient or quality food to meet their basic needs.

����
The legislature further finds that
dynamic pricing -- defined as changing prices based on market fluctuations
involving supply and demand, the season, supply chain issues, or consumer
trends, including but not limited to artificial intelligence-enabled pricing
adjustments -- can have an adverse effect on consumers, especially for
low-income individuals and households that rely on government assistance, such
as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Foods
Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
�

These kinds of retail practices, also known as surge pricing, can
obscure the base price of everyday items and can lessen the power that consumers
wield to make responsible and financially sound decisions.
�
Although retailers contend that dynamic
pricing can be used to lower the cost of goods, data has shown that instead, retailers
often change prices to raise their own profits while leaving consumers to pay.

Accordingly, the purpose of
this Act is to prohibit retailers from using dynamic pricing in the sale of food
that is sold, or qualifies to be sold, as part of the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program or Special Supplemental Foods Program for Women, Infants,
and Children.

����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 480, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�480-

�
Dynamic
pricing; prohibition; fines.
�
(a)
�

No retailer shall use dynamic pricing in the sale of
food
that is sold, or qualifies to be sold, as part of the federal Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program or Special Supplemental Foods Program for Women,
Infants, and Children
.

����
(b)
�
Any
retailer that violates this section shall be subject to a civil fine of not
more than $5,000 per item per day.
�
Each
day of a continued violation of this section shall constitute a distinct and
separate offense.
�
The attorney general may
bring an action to collect the fine.

����
(c)
�
Any
retailer that violates this section shall be subject to an administrative fine
of not more than $500 for the first offense and not more than $1,000 for a
second or subsequent offense and the actual costs of the investigation of the
violation.
�
Each day of a continued
violation of this section shall constitute a distinct and separate offense.
�
The director of commerce and consumer affairs
may bring an action to collect the fine.

����
(d)
�
As
used in this section, "dynamic pricing" means the practice of
fluctuating prices based on demand, the season, consumer data, or other factors,
including but not limited to artificial intelligence-enabled pricing
adjustments.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act does not affect rights and duties
that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun
before its effective date.

����
SECTION 4.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Dynamic
Pricing; Food; Prohibition

Description:

Prohibits
retailers from using dynamic pricing in the sale of food that is sold, or
qualifies to be sold, as part of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program or Special Supplemental Foods Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
�
Establishes fines.

The summary description
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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.