Sutter County Municipal Code Ch. 240 Unit Pricing of Consumer Commodities

Every retain grocery store or grocery department within a general retail merchandise store which uses an automatic checkout system shall cause to have a clearly readable price indicated on each packaged consumer commodity offered for sale after January 1, 1980.

The provisions of the chapter shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) Any consumer commodity which was not generally item priced on January 1, 1977, as determined by the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 12604.5 of the Business and Professions Code, as effective July 8, 1977.

(2) Any unpackaged fresh food produce, or to consumer commodities which are under three cubic inches in size, weigh less than three ounces, and are priced under thirty cents ($0.30).

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

(4) Any 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 regular employees.

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

(6) Items sold through a vending machine.

(a) For the purposes of this chapter "automatic checkout system" means a computer capable of reading the universal product code or similar code to determine the price of items being purchased.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter "consumer commodity" includes:

(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) 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 non-prescription drugs, bandages, female hygiene products, and toiletries.

(c) For the purposes of this chapter "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.

(d) For the purposes of this chapter "grocery store" means a store engaged primarily in the retail sale of packaged food, rather than food prepared for consumption on the premises.

(e) For the purposes of this chapter "sale item or special" means any consumer commodity offered in good faith for a period of seven days or less, on sale at a price below the normal price that item is usually sold for in that store.

(a) The intentional violation of Sections 240-010 and 240-030 is an infraction punishable on the first offense by a fine not in excess of $50.00 on the second offense by a fine not in excess of $100.00 and on each subsequent offense by a fine not in excess of $250.00.

(b) Failure to have a clearly readable price indicated on 12 units of the same item of the same commodity shall constitute a presumption of intent to violate Sections 240-010 and 240-030.

(c) Every additional 12 units of the same item that fail to have a price indicated on them shall constitute a presumption of intent to violate Sections 240-010 and 240-030.

(d) Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation after notification thereof by any person to the manager or assistant manager of the grocery store or the grocery department of the general retail merchandise store and shall constitute a presumption of intent to violate Section 240-010 and 240-030.

(e) Improper pricing on the shelf or on the item due to unintentional error shall not constitute a violation of this ordinance.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof.

(Ord. 800, Sec. 1; Feb. 9, 1980)