A pair of state legislators will introduce legislation to amend Colorado’s Unfair Practices Act to allow programs offering discount gasoline, drugs and other products.
Attorney General John Suthers office is drafting the legislation, which will be introduced in the General Assembly by Sen. Steve Johnson R-Larimer and Rep. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge.
The announcement comes a month after a jury found that King Soopers and City Market violated Colorado’s Unfair Practices Act and illegally sold gas below cost. While only the Kroger chains were named in the ruling, it applies to all grocery and big-box retailers selling discounted gas in Colorado.
Weeks later, Wal-Mart and Target announced a discount drug program that lowered the price of some generic prescriptions to $4. But the chains said because of the law they would charge $9 for other generics, more than double the charge in states that don’t have similar legislation.
Colorado’s law is outdated and deprives consumers of low prices, Suthers said at a media conference to announce the proposed legislation. “The government should only interfere in consumer pricing to assure a competitive marketplace.”
Suthers said the measure will continue to protect consumers against monopolistic behavior.
But Roy Turner, executive vice president of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said the law now protects independent gas retailers and other merchants against anti-competitive pricing schemes.
He hasn’t seen the proposed legislation, which is still being written, he said. But if the act is changed to allow retailers to sell gas and other products below what they pay for them some of their smaller competitors could be driven out of business, he said.
