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Mich. House Passes Bill Eliminating Item Pricing

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The Michigan House has passed a bill eliminating the practice of putting price tags on every item. The measure passed Wednesday on a 69-41 vote.

As it stands now, nearly every item in a store is required to have a sticker price on it. The bill scraps the original law, but still requires retailers to post the item's price where it can be clearly seen nearby.

"It does eliminate the item pricing requirement, that's older than I am, but it still maintains the consumer protections that shoppers have come to know in Michigan, and that they deserve," the bill's sponsor, Representative Lisa Posthumus Lyons, R-Alto, said.

Republican Governor Rick Snyder called for the change in his Jan. 19 State of the State address, saying the 1978 item pricing law is outdated.

Retail trade groups support the change, saying the current law results in higher prices.

However, the United Food and Commercial Workers union wants to keep the law. It says jobs would be lost in grocery stores if it's repealed.

Some Democrats also oppose repeal, saying it would do away with consumer protections. And some, including State Senator Harvey Santana, say Gov. Snyder's claim that the move will save the state money is incorrect.

"It begs the question why the Governor is citing numbers from a report where the premise is just wrong," Santana said.

The legislation is House Bill 4158.  The bill now goes to the Senate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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