A 4085

[Third Reprint]
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, Nos. 4085 and 4523
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
� ADOPTED
MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored
by:
Assemblyman�
CHIGOZIE U. ONYEMA
District 28
(Essex and Union)
Assemblywoman�
ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20
(Union)
Assemblyman�
WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31
(Hudson)
Assemblywoman�
SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29
(Essex and Hudson)
Assemblyman�
DAVID BAILEY, JR.
District 3
(Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Assemblywoman�
ROSAURA "ROSY" BAGOLIE
District 27
(Essex and Passaic)
Senator�
JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20
(Union)
Senator�
JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38
(Bergen)
Co-Sponsored
by:
Assemblywoman
Haider, Assemblyman Bhalla, Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblymen
Venezia, Kearney, Assemblywoman Brennan, Assemblymen Stewart, Hutchison,
Assemblywoman Kane, Assemblymen Singh, Walker, Verrelli, Assemblywomen Sweeney,
Katz, Senators Scutari, McKnight, Moriarty, Polistina, Beach, Diegnan, Stack
and Timberlake
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes �Fair Price Protection Act.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As reported by the Assembly Budget Committee on June
28, 2026, with amendments.
An Act concerning price setting 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.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �Fair Price Protection Act.�
���� 2.��� As used in this act:
���� �Bona fide discount� means an
offered price that is lower than the price at which groceries and other
foodstuffs are 1[widely] advertised
or1
offered 1for
sale1
to the public 1in
a person�s recent, regular course of business,1 and not
for the purpose of establishing a fictitious price to enable the subsequent
offer of a reduction.��
���� �Electronic shelving label�
means an electronic 1[and
Internet-connected]1
display that presents the product and pricing information for groceries and
other foodstuffs 1including,
but not limited to, labels that are visible to the consumer only after the
consumer has scanned a quick-response (QR) code, barcode, or other code1.
���� �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 2, except for any food or
beverages prepared for immediate consumption on or off the premises of a food
service establishment2.
���� �Location� means consumer
geolocation data that is used to infer a consumer's identity, permanent
residence, or membership in a protected class.� �Location� shall not include
data used to fulfill a requested good or service 1[, calculate
operational costs, or assess supply, demand, and local marketplace conditions]1.
���� �Person� means any natural
person or a legal representative, partnership, corporation, company, trust,
business entity or association, and any agent, employee, salesman, partner,
officer, director, member, stockholder, associate, trustee or cestuis que trustent
thereof.
���� �Personal data� means any
information that is linked or is reasonably linkable to an identified or
identifiable 1[person] consumer1.
���� 1�Price�
means a stated monetary amount advertised or offered to a consumer 2,2 including
prior to the application of a discount, 2[while proposing a hypothetical
discount, or]
when a hypothetical discount is proposed,2 after a discount has
been applied 2,
or after all related costs, fees, and other material terms of the transaction
that directly affect the amount paid by the consumer have been applied2.
�Price� shall include an advertisement, price advertisement, price reduction
advertisement, and targeted discount as those terms are defined in
N.J.A.C.13:45A-9.1 or its successor regulation.1
���� 1[�Personalized
algorithmic]
�Surveillance1
pricing� means 1an
action1
including a pricing strategy in which the price of groceries and other
foodstuffs is 1,
in whole or in part,1
determined, adjusted, optimized, or recommended by an algorithm or automated
system, based, in whole or in part, on using personal data, including data
derived, or inferred from other data, and that results in price variation for
individual consumers or groups of consumers.� 1�Surveillance pricing�
shall include the pricing of groceries and other foodstuffs based on data
collected through electronic surveillance technology, which involves 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, whether in a
physical or digital environment.1
���� 1[�Surveillance
pricing� means any action taken to price groceries and other foodstuffs as
determined, adjusted, optimized, or recommended by an algorithm or automated
system, in whole or in part, based, in whole or in part, on personal data,
whether in physical or digital environments. This shall include, but not be
limited to, the use of technological methods, systems, or tools including, but
not limited to, sensors, cameras, device tracking, biometric monitoring, or
other forms of observation or data collection, capable of gathering information
about a person�s behavior, characteristics, location, or other personal
attributes, whether in physical or digital environments.]1
���� 3.��� a.� Notwithstanding any
law, regulation, or rule to the contrary, it shall be considered an unlawful
practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) for a person to
use 1[personalized
algorithmic pricing,]1
surveillance pricing 1[,]1
or any 1other1 pricing
strategy that determines or varies the sale price of groceries and other
foodstuffs based, in whole or in part, on personal data.
���� b.��� The provisions of this
section shall not prohibit any person from offering a different price on
groceries and other foodstuffs based upon:
���� (1)� reasonable costs
associated with providing groceries and other foodstuffs to different 1[persons] consumers,
provided that a price shall not be changed more than once in a 24-hour period1;
���� (2)� a bona fide discount for
which eligibility conditions or criteria are 1publicly and1
conspicuously disclosed and uniformly offered based upon those conditions or
criteria, and to which any member of a broadly defined group, including, but
not limited to a group of teachers or veterans, is eligible; or
���� (3)� a bona fide discount
offered as part of a loyalty program, including loyalty programs that allow the
accrual or exchange of points, credits, or any similar nonmonetary system of
value, or loyalty programs that offer 1discounts,
rebates, or1
coupons to individual 1[customers] consumers1 based
on their purchases 1and
loyalty programs that include pricing benefits offered by another person, �provided
that:
���� (a)�� consumers opt-in to
the loyalty program on a voluntary basis;
���� (b)� all members of the
loyalty program receive 3[uniform]3 pricing
benefits 3pursuant
to uniform terms and conditions3;
���� (c)�� the loyalty program
provides clear and conspicuous disclosures of all pricing benefits, 3available3 discounts,
and data practices to participants 2,
and shall, upon request, make the disclosures available to the Division of
Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety no later than 14
days from the date the request was made2 ; and
���� (d)� the loyalty program
discloses all 2[pricing
benefits, discounts]
terms and conditions2
, and data practices to the public1.
���� c.��� To the extent a person
employs personal data to offer a difference in price on groceries and other
foodstuffs pursuant to subsection b. of this section, that personal data shall
not be used for any other purpose 3without
the consumer�s consent3.
���� 2[4. a.� It
shall be considered an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39
(C.56:8-1 et seq.) for any person to use an electronic shelving label connected
to any technology that employs 1[personalized
algorithmic pricing,]1
surveillance pricing 1[,]1
or any 1other1 pricing
strategy that determines or varies the sale price of groceries and other
foodstuffs based, in whole or in part, on personal data.�
���� b.��� Notwithstanding any
provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, there shall be a
one-year moratorium on the new use of electronic shelf labels in this State.
���� c.��� Before and during the moratorium
established pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the New Jersey Innovation
Authority established pursuant to P.L.2025, c.190 (C.52:18A-234.8 et seq.), in
consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs, shall conduct a study on
the use of electronic shelf labels. �The study shall examine, at a minimum:
���� (1)� the effects of the use of
electronic shelf labels; and
���� (2)� the impact of electronic
shelf labels on surveillance pricing.
���� d.��� No later than six months
before the end of the moratorium established pursuant to subsection b. of this
section, the New Jersey Innovation Authority shall submit the study�s findings
and conclusions in a final report, together with any recommendations for
legislative or administrative action, to the Governor and, pursuant to section
2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C:52:14-19.1), to the Legislature.
���� e.��� Upon the expiration of
the moratorium established pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the use
of electronic shelf labels shall be permitted in this State, provided that the
use of electronic shelf labels are in compliance with the provisions of
P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) and any other applicable law or regulation
promulgated by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, unless the
Legislature enacts a law to the contrary.]2
���� 24.�� a.�
Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary,
there shall be a one-year moratorium on the new use of electronic shelf labels
in this State.� Upon the expiration of the moratorium, the new use of
electronic shelf labels shall be permitted in this State, provided that the new
use of electronic shelf labels are in compliance with the provisions of
P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) and any other applicable law, and any rule or
regulation promulgated by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs,
unless the Legislature enacts a law to the contrary.
���� b.��� Nothing in this section
shall be construed to prohibit a person from purchasing, installing, or
deploying new electronic shelf labels solely for the purpose of repairing or
replacing existing electronic shelf labels that were in operation at the same
place of business prior to the effective date of the moratorium.2
���� 25.�
a.� Before and during the moratorium established pursuant to subsection a. of section
4 of this act, the New Jersey Innovation Authority 3in
the Department of the Treasury3
established pursuant to P.L.2025, c.190 (C.52:18A-234.8 et seq.), in
consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs, shall conduct a study on
the use of electronic shelf labels.� The study shall examine, at a minimum:
���� (1)� the effects of the use
of electronic shelf labels; and
���� (2)� the impact of
electronic shelf labels on surveillance pricing.
���� b.��� No later than six
months before the end of the moratorium established pursuant to subsection a.
of section 4 of this act, the New Jersey Innovation Authority shall submit the
study�s findings and conclusions in a report, together with any recommendations
for legislative or administrative action, to the Governor and, pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 3[(C:52:14-19.1)] (C.52:14-19.1)3, to
the Legislature.2
���� 26.�� Nothing
in this act shall be construed to apply to the pricing, advertisement, offer,
or sale of food or beverages by an establishment primarily engaged in the
preparation and sale of food or beverages for immediate consumption, whether
the food or beverages are consumed on or off the premises.2
���� 2[5.] 7.2���� 1[If the
Attorney General has reason to believe that the interest of the residents of
this State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by an act or
practice of a person in violation of subsection a. of section 3 or of section 4
of this act, or a regulation promulgated pursuant to section 6 of this act, the
Attorney General may]
In addition to any other authority provided by law or regulation, the
Attorney General may, for any violation of this act, 3[P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)]3 or
any regulations adopted pursuant thereto, or when the Attorney General deems it
to be in the public interest,1
bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of this State in any court of
competent jurisdiction to:
���� a.��� enjoin the act or
practice;
���� b. �� enforce compliance with
the provisions of this act;
���� c.��� obtain for each 1negligent
or greater1
violation, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, actual monetary
damages incurred from the violation 3[or $50,000,
whichever is greater]3;
or
���� d.��� obtain, for each
violation, any other restitution, penalty, or relief the court may deem
appropriate.
���� 2[6.] 8.2���� The
Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and
Public Safety may 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.
���� 2[7.] 9.2 This
act shall take effect on the first day of the 1[seventh] 13th1 month
next following the date of enactment, except that 2: the
provisions of section 4 shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month
next following the date of enactment; the provisions of section 5 shall take
effect immediately; and2
the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs and the Chief Innovation
Officer of the New Jersey Innovation Authority may take any anticipatory
administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation
of this act.