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S3732
SENATE, No. 3732
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
Senator� VINCENT J. POLISTINA
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Prohibits certain businesses from using dynamic,
surveillance, or personalized algorithmic pricing when selling groceries to
consumers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
prohibiting certain pricing strategies and
supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in this act:
���� �Consumer� means a natural
person who is seeking to purchase, or is solicited to purchase, groceries and
other foodstuffs for personal, family, or household use.
���� �Dynamic pricing� means a
pricing strategy that fluctuates the sale price of groceries and other
foodstuffs under conditions where algorithmic or artificial intelligence models
retrain or recalibrate information in near
real-time
or a short period of time.� �Dynamic pricing� shall not include promotional
pricing offers, loyalty program benefits, or other temporary discounts or
changes to pricing related to retention of existing customers.
���� �Groceries and other
foodstuffs� means dairy products, meat and delicatessen products, produce
products, seafood products, carbonated beverages, coffee and other beverages,
snack foods, candy products, baked products, paper products, household cleaning
items, health and beauty products, frozen foods, pet foods and supplies, and
any other edible product not previously listed.�
���� �Personalized algorithmic
pricing� means a pricing strategy that uses dynamic pricing and surveillance
pricing derived from, or set by, an algorithm using consumer data, excluding
consumer location data, that identifies, or could reasonably be linked to, a
specific consumer or the consumer�s electronic device, and that results in
price variation for individual consumers or groups of consumers.
���� �Retail food store� means any
retail establishment where groceries and other foodstuffs are regularly and
customarily sold in a bona fide manner for off-premises consumption.
���� �Surveillance pricing� means a
pricing strategy that is used to offer or set a customized sale price for groceries
or other foodstuffs for a specific consumer or group of consumers based, in
whole or in part, on information collected through electronic surveillance
technology. ��Surveillance pricing� shall include the use of technological
methods, systems, or tools including, but not limited to, sensors, cameras,
device tracking, biometric monitoring, and other forms of observation or data
collection, capable of gathering information about a consumer�s behavior,
characteristics, location, or other personal attributes.
���� �Third-party grocery delivery
platform� means a business entity, outside of the operation of a retail food
store, that operates a website, mobile application, or digital platform that
facilitates, arranges, or enables the purchase or delivery of groceries and
other foodstuffs from a retail food store to a consumer.
���� 2.��� a.� It shall be
considered an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et
seq.) for a retail food store or a third-party grocery delivery platform to use
dynamic pricing, surveillance pricing, or personalized algorithmic pricing when
selling groceries and other foodstuffs, either in person or online, to a
consumer.
���� b.��� The provisions of this
section shall not limit any retail food store or third-party grocery delivery
platform from providing consumers, based on previous purchase history, a
discount, promotional price, or loyalty program benefit.
���� c.���� The Director of the
Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall
adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to effectuate the provisions of
this act.
���� 3.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of the Treasury a special fund to be known as the �Grocery Pricing
Fairness Fund.�� The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund all monies
received by the State for penalties assessed pursuant to section 2 of P.L.�� �,
c.�� �(C. �������) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).� The fund
shall be continuing and nonlapsing.� The fund shall be administered by the
State Treasurer, and any interest earned on monies in the fund shall be
credited to the fund.
���� b.��� The Legislature shall
annually appropriate from the fund monies to the Department of Agriculture for
distribution to community food pantries.� All funds received by community food
pantries shall be utilized exclusively for the purchase of groceries and other
foodstuffs.� The Department of Agriculture shall cooperate with the Department
of Human Services and the Department of Health to distribute the funds.
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment, except that the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may
take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary
for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill prohibits certain
businesses from using certain pricing strategies, such as dynamic pricing,
surveillance pricing, or personalized algorithmic pricing, when selling
groceries and other foodstuffs to consumers.
���� Under the bill, it is an
unlawful practice and a violation of the consumer fraud act for a retail food
store or a third-party grocery delivery platform to use dynamic pricing,
surveillance pricing, or personalized algorithmic pricing when selling groceries
and other foodstuffs, either in person or online, to a consumer.� However, the
provisions of this bill do not limit any retail food store or third-party
grocery delivery platform from providing consumers, based on previous purchase
history, a discount, promotional price, or loyalty program benefit.
���� An unlawful practice under the
consumer fraud act is punishable by a monetary penalty of not more than $10,000
for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. �In
addition, violations may result in cease and desist orders issued by the
Attorney General, the assessment of punitive damages, and the awarding of
treble damages and costs to the injured party. �All monies received from
penalties assessed for violations of the provisions of this bill under the
consumer fraud act are to be credited to the �Grocery Pricing Fairness Fund.�
���� The �Grocery Pricing Fairness
Fund� is a fund administered by the State Treasurer and funded by penalties
collected under the bill.� The Legislature is to annually appropriate monies
from the fund to the Department of Agriculture for distribution to community
food pantries. �Funds provided to community food pantries are required to be
used exclusively for the purchase of groceries and other foodstuffs.�
Additionally, the Department of Agriculture is to coordinate with the
Departments of Human Services and Health to distribute the funds.