Bill > LD1894

This bill establishes comprehensive regulations to prevent price discrimination and unfair pricing practices in the grocery supply chain, focusing on large grocery suppliers and retailers. The legislation defines key terms such as "covered goods" (which include food products and seeds for personal consumption), "covered retailers," and "dominant covered retailers" (typically large chains operating in multiple states with high annual sales). The bill prohibits covered suppliers from engaging in discriminatory pricing practices, such as offering different terms of sale to retailers based on their size or distribution channels, and requires suppliers to provide transparent pricing information upon request. Dominant retailers are also restricted from imposing terms that could unreasonably limit the availability of goods to smaller retailers or coercing suppliers into unfair practices. The Attorney General is granted enforcement authority, with potential civil penalties of up to 1.5 times actual damages or the pricing differential suffered. The bill includes affirmative defenses for entities that can prove their pricing differences are due to legitimate business efficiencies or specific circumstances, and provides immunity for suppliers who can demonstrate they were coerced by dominant retailers. Importantly, the legislation is designed to protect smaller retailers from anticompetitive practices while maintaining flexibility for genuine business considerations, and it explicitly does not supersede existing antitrust laws.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1894&snum=132