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A Maryland bill to prevent deceptive after-rebate prices in ads suffered a major setback March 20 when a state assembly committee issued an unfavorable report for the legislation.
The bill, entitled "Consumer Protection - Advertisement of Rebate for Consumer Goods," was presented to the Economic Matters committee Feb. 28. On March 20, the committee issued an "unfavorable report" for the bill, according to the Maryland General Assembly website.
Delegate Neil Quinter, who sponsored the bill, said by e-mail that the committee decision effectively "means that the bill is dead for the year," when contacted by Rebate Report Card on March 25. Quinter could re-introduce the bill next year, if re-elected for another term.
If passed into law, the bill would prevent businesses from using the after-rebate price in ads, unless the merchant provided the rebate money at the time of sale. This would be a distinct change from the usual practice of advertising the after-rebate price and requiring customers to mail in forms, receipts and bar codes to a manufacturer or retailer to get the rebate.
House Bill 852 is sponsored by Maryland representatives Neil Quinter, Elizabeth Bobo and Herman Taylor.
The bill synopsis reads:
Prohibiting merchants from advertising rebates for consumer goods by displaying the net price of the consumer goods in the advertisement unless the amount of the rebate is provided to the consumer by the merchant at the time of the purchase of the consumer goods; providing that a merchant need not provide the amount of a rebate for consumer goods to a consumer if the advertisement for the consumer goods states that a rebate is available without displaying the net price of the consumer goods; etc.
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