The proposed bill introduces a new chapter, CHAPTER 63, titled "Protecting Rhode Islanders from Coercive Economic Tactics at Grocery Stores," to Title 6 of the General Laws concerning commercial law. This chapter, known as the Price Tags Act, aims to protect consumers in Rhode Island from coercive economic tactics employed by grocery suppliers and retailers.

The chapter establishes definitions for key terms such as "covered goods," "covered retailers," "covered suppliers," "covered wholesalers," and "dominant covered retailers." It outlines the obligations of covered suppliers to ensure price fairness, specifically prohibiting them from failing to extend the same terms of sale to all covered retailers and wholesalers purchasing covered goods on the same volume unit basis. Additionally, suppliers are required to provide anonymized terms of sale from contracts with dominant covered retailers upon request.

The bill also includes provisions for enforcement, allowing the Attorney General or affected parties to file suit to obtain injunctions and seek civil penalties or damages for violations. It specifies liability for covered suppliers and dominant covered retailers for violations committed by contracted third parties and outlines defenses for those alleged to have engaged in unlawful conduct, including circumstances where pricing differences are attributable to legitimate business practices.

Furthermore, the act provides immunity for covered suppliers from liability if they can demonstrate that a violation was imposed by a dominant retailer and that they made a good faith effort to disclose the conduct to the Attorney General. The chapter clarifies that it does not limit or supersede existing antitrust laws and includes a severability clause to ensure that if any portion is found unlawful, the remaining provisions remain in effect. The act is set to take effect immediately upon passage.