Laguna Niguel Municipal Code Div. 13 Item Price Marking on Packaged Consumer Commodities

Footnotes:

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Cross reference— Business regulations, tit. 5.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Automatic checkout system means an electronic system employing a scanning device combined with a computer and register to read a Universal Product Code or similar code on packaging and display and total the cost of the items purchased.

Consumer commodity means:

(1) Food, including all material, whether solid, liquid or mixed, and whether simple or compound, which is used or intended for consumption by human beings or domestic animals normally kept as household pets, and all substances or ingredients added to any such material for any purpose. This definition shall not apply to individual packages of cigarettes or individual cigars.

(2) Paper and plastic products such as but not limited to napkins, facial tissues, toilet tissues, foil wrapping, plastic wrapping, paper toweling and disposable plates and cups.

(3) Detergents, soaps and other cleaning agents.

(4) Pharmaceuticals, including nonprescription drugs, bandages, hygiene products and toiletries.

Grocery department means an area within a general retail merchandise store which is engaged primarily in the retail sale of packaged food, rather than food prepared for immediate consumption on or off the premises.

Grocery store means a store engaged primarily in the retail sale of packaged food, rather than food prepared for consumption on the premises.

Person means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association or other organization, group or combination acting as a unit.

Sale item or special means any consumer commodity offered in good faith for some appropriate time period, on sale at a price below the normal price that item is usually sold for in that store.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-1-18.

Every retail grocery store or grocery department within a general retail merchandise store which uses an automatic checkout system shall cause a clearly readable price to be indicated on each packaged consumer commodity offered for sale; however, such requirement shall not apply to:

(1) Any unpackaged fresh food produce.

(2) Any consumer commodity under three cubic inches in size and weighing less than three ounces and priced for less than $0.30.

(3) Any grocery business which has as its only regular employees the owner thereof, or the parent, spouse or child of such owner, or, in addition thereto, not more than two other persons employed on a regular schedule for a continuing period of time.

(4) Identical items within a multi-item package.

(5) Items sold through a vending machine.

(6) Any consumer commodity which was not generally item-priced as of January 1, 1977, as determined by the state department of food and agriculture.

(7) Any consumer commodity offered as a sale item or as a special.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)

(a) Any person intentionally violating any of the provisions of section 11-13-2 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than $500.00, or by imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) Failure to have a clearly readable price indicated on 12 units of the same item of the same commodity shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption of intent to violate section 11-13-2.

(c) Each additional 12 units of the same item that fail to have a price indicated on them shall constitute a separate violation of section 11-13-2.

(d) Each day that a violation continues after notification thereof by any person to the grocery store or department manager or assistant manager shall constitute a separate violation and shall constitute a presumption of intent to violate section 11-13-2.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)

(a) In order to permit experimentation with automatic checkout systems, each person operating one or more stores as described in section 11-13-2 within the city may operate not to exceed one of its stores without compliance with the provisions of section 11-13-2.

(b) Any person claiming such exemption shall notify the city clerk in writing of the name and address of each store described in section 11-13-2 in the city, and shall also designate therein which store shall be exempt from the provisions of such section. Each store so exempted shall post a sign within 20 feet of each customer entrance thereto, so placed as to be clearly visible to customers, stating that the store uses an automatic checkout system and that consumer commodities are not individually price-marked.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)