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Panel approves repeal of 6% mandatory retail markup on many goods; gasoline excluded by compromise
Summary
The committee voted to repeal a 6% government‑mandated markup on many retail products that has been in place since 1949, while excluding gasoline and petroleum products as a compromise to protect small convenience stores.
A committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted to advance House Bill 10 24, a measure to remove a government‑mandated 6% markup on specified retail goods, including groceries, over‑the‑counter medicines, pet food, health and beauty aids, paper goods and baby supplies.
Representative Bayshore, the bill sponsor, told the committee the markup has been in place since 1949 and that Oklahoma is one of seven states that still imposes the requirement. "We're talking about 6% markup above cost on groceries, over the counter meds, pet foods, health and beauty aids, paper goods and plastic goods, baby supplies, diapers, formula," Bayshore said when presenting the bill. She said border shopping illustrated the price difference and described the repeal as leveling the playing field for small businesses.
Members asked whether the measure would remove the markup on gasoline. Bayshore said gasoline was excluded as part of a compromise to protect very small convenience stores where fuel sales are a primary margin: "There are, there've been some convenience stores in very small towns that that's their only way to make a living basically. So, that's why we just didn't want to put out small businesses." The committee also discussed enforcement; Bayshore said civil enforcement would be left to the courts, and members discussed whether the Attorney General's office would play a role under the Rockefeller Act.
The committee recorded the vote as 16 aye, 0 nay and the chair declared the bill passed.
The bill sponsor said she added language to strengthen the state's existing unfair sales act to prohibit predatory pricing intended to drive competitors from the market. The committee record showed no amendments on the floor during the hearing; the transcript does not include a fiscal note or specific enforcement procedure beyond court remedies and potential Attorney General involvement.
Votes at a glance for this bill: motion to adopt reported by Representative Bayshore; recorded vote 16 aye, 0 nay; outcome: approved by committee.
