The Michigan House considered a bill today that would end item pricing.
House Bill 4158 has already passed House Commerce Committee,
The full House will vote on the measure Wednesday. It would then go to the Senate.
However, it appears likely that the measure will pass and put an end to
Michigan’s law requiring a price tag on every item.
The change is overdue. Many retailers already ignore the outmoded and expensive requirement, and instead rely on price signs and bar code readers in the aisles.
Retail trade groups support the change, saying the current law results in higher prices.
Some Democrats oppose the repeal, saying it would do away with consumer protections, such as the bounty that stores must pay if their checkout scanners charge more than the price on the item.
The bounty can always be reinstated and defined as charging more than the posted price, rather than the individual price tag. That would be an improvement since the current law excepted sales items -- which are the items most likely to be incorrectly priced.
Check-out prices that do not agree with the signs that tempt buyers to buy are the problem -- not individual price tags.