H. B. 2065
(By Delegates Farris, Fleischauer, Manuel and Leach)
[Introduced January 18, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend chapter forty-six-a of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article six-e, relating to
prohibiting price discrimination by businesses based on
gender.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter forty-six-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article six-e, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 6E. EQUAL PRICING ACT OF 1995.
§46A-6E-1. Short title.
This article may be cited as the "Equal Pricing Act."
§46A-6E-2. Prohibited pricing practices.
No seller of goods or services, including a person who holds
a license to conduct business, or as a prerequisite to conduct
business under the provisions of this code, may discriminate,
with respect to the price charged for goods or services of
similar or like kind and quality, against a person solely because
of the person's gender.
§46A-6E-3. Action to enforce the provisions of article.
Any consumer who suffers loss by reason of a violation of
section one of this article may bring a civil action to enforce
such provision. Any consumer who is successful in an action
shall recover reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred
by bringing the action.
§46A-6E-4. Enforcement; penalties.
Any violation of section one of this article constitutes an
unlawful act or practice under the provisions of article six of
this chapter, regarding fraudulent acts or practices committed by
a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction and shall be
subject to the enforcement provisions of article seven of this chapter.
§46A-6E-5. Exemptions.
The provisions of section one of this article do not apply
to the sale or purchase, or solicitation or representation in
connection therewith, of goods from a catalog or of books,
recordings, video cassettes, periodicals and similar goods
through a membership group or club which is regulated by the
federal trade commission trade regulation rule concerning use of
negative option plans by sellers in commerce or through a
contractual plan or arrangement such as a continuity plan,
subscription arrangement or a single sale or purchase series
arrangement under which the seller ships goods to a consumer who
has consented in advance to receive such goods and the recipient
of such goods is given the opportunity, after examination of the
goods, to receive a full refund of charges for the goods, or
unused portion thereof, upon return of the goods, or unused
portion thereof, undamaged.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Equal
Pricing Act of 1995. The bill provides that vendors of goods and
services can't discriminate in pricing based on gender for goods
and services of like kind and quality. The bill provides
enforcement provisions in the event of violations. Such
enforcement provisions include the right to bring a civil action
as well as bringing a complaint to the Attorney General so that
the matter can be investigated and appropriate action taken.
Article six-e is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.