The bill creates a new chapter in Title 19 RCW titled the "fair pricing and transparency act" and adds a related section to chapter 43.330 RCW. It prohibits surveillance-based price discrimination and surge pricing for retail grocery goods, requires that prices be clearly posted in retail locations, and declares violations to be unfair or deceptive acts or unfair methods of competition under the consumer protection act (chapter 19.86 RCW). The bill also prohibits the use of electronic shelf label systems in retail locations of 15,000 square feet or larger until January 1, 2030, and that prohibition section expires June 30, 2031. The bill defines key terms used in the new chapter, including algorithm, behaviors, consumer, electronic shelf label system, goods, inferred data, person (business engaged in retail sales, excluding small businesses as defined in RCW 19.85.020), personalized/algorithmic pricing, personally identifiable information, publicly available information, surge pricing, surveillance pricing, and surveillance-based price discrimination. The department referenced in chapter 43.330 RCW is required to study electronic shelf label systems and their impact on pricing transparency and employee job security and to submit a report to the legislature by June 30, 2029; the extracted text of that requirement is incomplete and the specific department name is not spelled out. The bill also includes a compliance reference to RCW 43.01.036(2) and notes an expiration date of June 30, 2031 for the relevant section, but the extracted material is fragmentary. The extracted text does not include details on enforcement mechanisms, specific penalties, private rights of action, rulemaking authority, exemptions, or other implementation details, so those aspects are uncertain from the provided material.

If enacted, large grocery stores (retail locations 15,000 square feet or larger) would be barred from using electronic shelf label systems until January 1, 2030 and could face consumer-protection actions if they use surveillance-based or surge pricing that adjusts prices based on a shopper’s data or behavior. That means these stores will likely need to keep using paper or manually updated prices, stop any personalized or algorithm-driven price changes, and revise loyalty or membership programs so collected personal information is not used to personalize prices, which could raise ongoing labor costs and limit pricing strategies. Smaller retailers and businesses defined as “small business” are excluded from the main “person” definition and are less affected. The bill also requires a state department referenced in chapter 43.330 RCW to study electronic shelf label systems and report to the legislature by June 30, 2029, which could lead to further action, but the text does not clearly identify the department or provide full study or enforcement details, so some implementation and enforcement specifics remain uncertain.