An Act to Address Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1894
Sponsors: SAYRE, TALBOT ROSS, FECTEAU

Legislative Document
No. 1894
H.P. 1265
House of Representatives, May 5, 2025
An Act to Address Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness
Received by the Clerk of the House on May 1, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Housing and Economic Development pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SAYRE of Kennebunk.
Cosponsored by Senator TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland and
Representatives: CLOUTIER of Lewiston, CROCKETT of Portland, Speaker FECTEAU of 
Biddeford, MATLACK of St. George, MOONEN of Portland, Senators: BENNETT of Oxford, 
GROHOSKI of Hancock, NANGLE of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA c. 239 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 239
CONSUMER GROCERY PRICING FAIRNESS
§1500-W. Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness
1. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Channels of trade" means the pathways through which covered goods are 
marketed, distributed and sold to consumers, including, but not limited to, 
supermarkets, hypermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, online or electronic 
commerce retailers, specialty food stores, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and 
any other retail establishments, platforms or entities that compete for consumer grocery 
dollars and that engage in the sale of covered goods, either primarily or as a segment 
of their broader retail offering.
B. "Covered good" means a grocery item or packaged good, including, but not limited 
to:
(1)  Any food or food product intended for human consumption, except for 
alcoholic beverages, tobacco and hot foods and hot food products prepared for 
immediate consumption and any deposit fee required to purchase any food or food 
product contained in a returnable bottle, can or other container, regardless of 
whether the fee is included in the shelf price posted for the food or food product; 
and
(2)  Seeds and plants to grow food for personal consumption.
"Covered good" does not include gasoline or prescription drugs.
C. "Covered retailer" means an entity that sells, or an entity that oversees another entity 
that sells, covered goods at retail to consumers at one or more physical locations in the 
State.
D. "Covered supplier" means an entity that produces and sells, or an entity that oversees 
another entity that produces and sells, covered goods in the State to covered retailers 
or covered wholesalers, whether directly or indirectly, through a purchasing agent or 
3rd-party entity, in an aggregate amount exceeding $6,000,000,000 annually.
E.  "Covered wholesaler" means an entity that purchases, or an entity that oversees 
another entity that purchases, covered goods for the purposes of reselling or 
distributing the covered goods to covered retailers in the State.
F. "Dominant covered retailer" means a covered retailer that has one or more store 
locations or distribution centers in this State and in at least 20 other states, with retail 
sales of covered goods in an aggregate amount exceeding $18,000,000,000 annually.
G. "Pricing differential" means, with respect to the volume unit basis of a covered good 
purchased by a covered retailer or covered wholesaler compared to the volume unit 
basis of the same covered good purchased by a dominant covered retailer:
(1)  The difference in price of the covered good multiplied by the quantity sold; or
(2)  The difference in the price equivalent of the terms of sale of the covered good, 
adjusted by the time value of money to account for any difference in payment 
terms, multiplied by the quantity sold.
H.  "Purchasing agent" means a 3rd-party entity contracted by a dominant covered 
retailer to purchase covered goods on behalf of the dominant covered retailer.
I. "Same covered goods" means, with respect to 2 different covered goods, a covered 
good and any other covered good sold under the same brand that differs only in quantity 
or packaging.
J.  "Same terms of sale" means, with respect to 2 different sales agreements or contracts, 
terms of sale that are identical on a per-unit basis, excluding any variation in shipping 
and delivery costs.
K. "Terms of sale" means all substantive terms and conditions of a sale commonly 
subject to negotiation and competition, including, but not limited to, price, discounts, 
rebates, delivery terms, payment terms, package size, promotional allowances, 
marketing devices, merchandising arrangements, terms of distribution and any other 
similar terms or conditions.
L. "Volume unit basis" means the base unit of measurement, not exceeding a truckload, 
by which purchase quantities are measured in purchase agreements between a covered 
supplier and a covered retailer or covered wholesaler.
2. Unfair pricing practices; covered suppliers. A covered supplier engages in unfair 
pricing practices in violation of this subsection if the covered supplier:
A. Fails to extend the same terms of sale of a covered good to all covered retailers and 
covered wholesalers that purchase the covered good on the same volume unit basis in 
reasonably contemporaneous sales;
B. Fails to provide, within 14 days of a written request from a covered retailer or 
covered wholesaler that has purchased a covered good or received an offer, including 
terms of sale, for a covered good from the covered supplier, the anonymized terms of 
sale from all contracts with dominant covered retailers that purchased the same covered 
good on the same volume unit basis during the 180-day period prior to which the 
purchase or offer, including terms of sale, was made;
C. Refuses the sale of a covered good to a covered retailer or covered wholesaler on 
the basis of a distinction in channels of trade, or other similar basis, if the effect is to 
facilitate a difference in terms of sale in violation of paragraph A; or
D. Refuses the sale of a covered good to a covered retailer or a covered wholesaler if:
(1) The covered retailer is not a dominant covered retailer;
(2) The covered retailer or the covered wholesaler has made and completed 
payment for purchases from the covered supplier within the previous 12 months;
(3) The covered retailer or the covered wholesaler has made a request for the 
covered supplier to provide to such covered retailer or covered wholesaler the same 
terms of sale provided to other covered retailers or covered wholesalers, consistent 
with the terms of this subsection; and
(4) The covered retailer or covered wholesaler has no commercially reasonable 
justification.
For the purposes of this subsection, a covered supplier is liable for any violation of this 
subsection committed by the covered supplier's purchasing agent or contracted 3rd-party 
entity.
3. Unfair pricing practices; dominant covered retailers. A dominant covered retailer 
engages in unfair pricing practices in violation of this subsection if the dominant covered 
retailer:
A. Imposes on or requires of a covered supplier terms of sale with respect to a covered 
good if the dominant covered retailer knows or reasonably should know that:
(1) The dominant covered retailer or its purchasing agent will acquire more of the 
covered good than another dominant covered retailer; and
(2) Purchases by the dominant covered retailer or its purchasing agent under the 
terms of sale are likely to result in unreasonably diminished availability of the 
covered good to another covered retailer; or
B. Takes any action that the dominant covered retailer, its purchasing agent or a 
contracted 3rd-party entity intends, knows or has reason to know will coerce or induce 
a covered supplier to violate this subsection.
For the purposes of this subsection, a dominant covered retailer is liable for any violation 
of this subsection committed by the dominant covered retailer's purchasing agent or other 
contracted 3rd-party entity.
4. Penalties and remedies.  An entity that violates this section commits a civil 
violation for which a civil penalty, recoverable in a civil action, may be adjudged of not 
more than the greater of:
A. One and 1/2 actual damages incurred by entities as a result of the violation; or
B. The pricing differential suffered by a covered retailer or a covered wholesaler.
Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a covered supplier or dominant 
covered retailer is in violation of or intends to violate this section, the Attorney General 
may bring a civil action seeking civil penalties in the name of the State against the covered 
supplier or dominant covered retailer to restrain such violation by temporary or permanent 
injunction.
5. Affirmative defense. An entity alleged to have committed a violation of this section 
is not subject to penalties under subsection 4 if the entity establishes by a preponderance 
of evidence that:
A. Any difference in the terms of sale was predominantly attributable to a covered 
retailer engaging in self-distribution of the covered good at issue or otherwise lowering 
the overall costs of the covered supplier through genuine efficiencies, such as 
economies in distribution or manufacturing;
B. A covered retailer voluntarily accepted terms of sale relating to a covered good that 
were not the same terms of sale as the terms of sale of another covered retailer in 
exchange for commercially reasonable consideration, as long as the acceptance of the 
terms of sale was not pretextual, coerced or made under duress; or
C. The terms of sale applied only to cases in which there was an actual or imminent 
deterioration of perishable goods, obsolescence of seasonal goods, distress sales under 
court process or sales in good faith in discontinuance of the goods concerned.
6. Covered supplier immunity. A covered supplier is immune from liability for a 
violation of this section if the covered supplier establishes by a preponderance of evidence 
that:
A. The violation was imposed on or required of the covered supplier by a dominant 
covered retailer;
B. The covered supplier would have suffered substantial harm to the covered supplier's 
business were it to refuse the demand of the dominant covered retailer that led to or 
constituted the violation; and
C. The covered supplier made a good faith effort to disclose the dominant covered 
retailer's conduct to the Attorney General.
This subsection does not apply to conduct by a covered supplier that constitutes collusion 
in violation of federal or state antitrust law.
7. Construction. Except as otherwise specifically provided, this chapter may not be 
construed to limit, impair or supersede any antitrust laws or require an entity to do business 
with any other entity unless refusal to do so would violate a provision of this section.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes laws prohibiting large grocery suppliers and retailers from 
engaging in price discrimination or imposing discriminatory terms of sale and extracting 
unfair and anticompetitive concessions from wholesalers and suppliers.  The bill provides 
the Attorney General authority to enforce those provisions.