Agency of Agriculture to study surveillance pricing; committee asks for drafting support

Mark Popkett, chief of the weights and measures program at the Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, and Scott Dolan, a weights-and‑measures specialist, briefed the Senate committee on draft S.207 about surveillance and dynamic pricing.

Popkett said the agency enforces price accuracy and is already updating unit‑pricing rules to address electronic shelf labels and frequent intraday price changes. "We are not in opposition. We would be supportive of that," Popkett said of legislative efforts to constrain algorithmic surveillance pricing, while noting the agency's limited enforcement capacity for online pricing.

Why it matters: lawmakers worry 'surveillance pricing' can be individualized and target consumers based on data collected online or in store. The committee discussed whether any statutory language should be limited to physical retail locations — where weights and measures already enforce price accuracy — or reach ecommerce, where enforcement and technical expertise are more complex. The agency suggested New York’s approach (requiring disclosures when an algorithm sets a price) as one option lawmakers could consider.

Committee action: senators asked LEHI counsel Michael O'Grady to work with Mark Popkett and Scott Dolan to draft legislative language and to charge the Agency of Agriculture with a study and return next year with recommendations on enforcement, staffing and whether to cover ecommerce. Popkett and Dolan said they would do so.

The committee did not vote on S.207; instead members directed staff and agency counsel to draft options for committee consideration before the bill advances.

Sources: Mark Popkett and Scott Dolan, Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets; committee Q&A; LEHI counsel Michael O'Grady.