AGO 1991-030.

• Case Date: October 10, 1991
• Court: Connecticut

Connecticut Attorney General Opinions 1991. AGO 1991-030. October 10, 1991Opinion No. 1991-030Hon. Gloria SchafferDepartment of Consumer Protection165 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106 Dear Commissioner Schaffer: Former Commissioner Heslin requested an opinion from t his office on "whether any consumer commodity which is not individually marked with its current selling price is in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-79 and § 21a-79-a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies." The answer is yes. Section (b) of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-79 states that "[a]ny person, firm, partnership, association or corporation which utilizes universal coding in totaling a retail customer's purchases shall mark or cause to be marked each consumer commodity which bears a Universal Product Code with its retail price." To determine the meaning of these provisions, it is necessary to focus on a number of definitions in Conn. Gen.. Stat. §§ 21a-73 and 21a-79(a) and § 21a-79-1 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.1 The term "consumer commodity" as used in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-79(b) "shall have the same meaning as in section 21a-73." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-73 (a). In turn, § 21a-73 broadly defines the term "consumer commodity" as follows: 'Consumer commodity' means any food, drug device, cosmetic or other article, product, or commodity of any other kind or class, except drugs sold only by prescription, which is customarily produced for sale to retail sales agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by individuals, or use by individuals for purposes of personal care or in the performance of services ordinarily rendered in or around the household, and which usually is consumed or expended in the course of such consumption or use.... The term "consumer commodity" mentioned in § 21a-79(b) is preceded by the qualifying work "each". Also mentioned din § 21a-79(b) is the term "retail price." The term "retail price" is defined by § 21a-79-1 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies as "the price marked on the consumer commodity at which said consumer commodity is to be sold to the consumer."2 In applying these definitions to the language of § 21a-79(b), the only sensible meaning of the provisions of § 21a-79(b) is that each individual consumer commodity, as defined in 21a-73, bearing a universal product code and presently being...