An Act to Prohibit Deceptive Pricing
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0414
Committee: Housing and Economic Development
Sponsors: ROEDER
Amends: 5 MRSA §207-A, 5 MRSA §209

Legislative Document
No. 414
H.P. 268
House of Representatives, February 4, 2025
An Act to Prohibit Deceptive Pricing
Reference to the Committee on Housing and Economic Development suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ROEDER of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §207-A is enacted to read:
§207-A.  Deceptive pricing
It is a violation of this chapter for a person to advertise, display or offer a price for 
goods or services that do not include all mandatory fees or charges other than the following:
1.  Taxes or fees.  Taxes or fees imposed by a government on the transaction; and
2.  Postage or carrier charges.  Postage or carrier charges that are reasonable and 
actually incurred to ship the physical goods to the consumer.
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §209, as corrected by RR 2023, c. 2, Pt. B, §32, is amended to read:
§209.  Injunction; procedures
Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a person is using or is about 
to use any method, act or practice declared by section 207 or 207-A to be unlawful, and 
that proceedings would be in the public interest, the Attorney General may bring an action 
in the name of the State against the person to restrain by temporary or permanent injunction 
the use of the method, act or practice and the court may make such other orders or 
judgments as may be necessary to restore to any person who has suffered any ascertainable 
loss by reason of the use or employment of the unlawful method, act or practice, any 
moneys or property, real or personal, that may have been acquired by means of the method, 
act or practice. At least 10 days prior to commencement of an action under this section, the 
Attorney General shall notify the person of the intended action, and give the person an 
opportunity to confer with the Attorney General in person or by counsel or other 
representative as to the proposed action. Notice must be given to the person by mail, 
postage prepaid, sent to the person's usual place of business, or if the person has no usual 
place of business, to the person's last known address. The Attorney General may proceed 
without notice as required by this section upon a showing of facts by affidavit of immediate 
irreparable harm to the consumers of the State. The action may be brought in the Superior 
Court of the county in which the person resides or has the person's principal place of 
business, or may be brought in the Superior Court of Kennebec County.  Those courts are 
authorized to issue temporary or permanent injunctions to restrain and prevent violations 
of this chapter. A district attorney or law enforcement officer, receiving notice of any 
alleged violation of this chapter, shall immediately forward written notice of the alleged 
violation with any other information that the attorney or officer may have to the office of 
the Attorney General. A person who violates the terms of an injunction issued under this 
section shall forfeit and pay to the State, to be applied in the carrying out of this chapter, a 
civil penalty fine of not more than $10,000 for each violation. For the purposes of this 
section, the court issuing the injunction retains jurisdiction, and the cause must be 
continued, and in such cases the Attorney General acting in the name of the State may 
petition for recovery of the civil penalty fine. In any action under this section where a 
permanent injunction is issued, the court may order the person against whom the permanent 
injunction has been issued to pay to the State the costs of the investigation of that person 
by the Attorney General and the costs of the suit, and the funds must accrue to the General 
Fund.
In any action under this section where a permanent injunction is denied, the court may 
order the State to pay the costs of the defense of the prevailing party or parties and the costs 
of the suit upon a finding by the court that the action was frivolous.
In any action by the Attorney General brought against the defendant for violating the 
terms of an injunction issued under this section, the court may make such orders or 
judgments as may be necessary to restore to any persons who have suffered any 
ascertainable loss by reason of such conduct found to be in violation of an injunction, any 
money or property, real or personal, which that may have been acquired by means of such 
conduct.  Each intentional violation of section 207 or 207-A in which the Attorney General 
establishes that the conduct giving rise to the violation is either unfair or deceptive is a 
violation for which a civil penalty fine of not more than $10,000 shall must be adjudged.  
The Attorney General may seek to recover civil penalties fines for violations of section 207 
which or 207-A that are intentional and are unfair or deceptive.  The Attorney General in 
seeking civil penalties fines has the burden of proving that the conduct was intentional and 
was unfair or deceptive notwithstanding any other statute which that declares a violation 
of that statute an unfair trade practice.  These penalties shall fines must be applied in the 
carrying out of this chapter.
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits any person from advertising, displaying or offering a price for a good 
or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges other than taxes or fees 
imposed by a government on the transaction or postage or carrier charges that are 
reasonable and actually incurred to ship the good.