| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3551 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 376 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Colleen M. Garry |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act restricting the sale of certain items at flea markets. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex1/17/2025 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3551 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 376 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Garry of Dracut, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 376) of Colleen |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | M. Garry for legislation to restrict sales of certain items and products at flea markets, so-called. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 308 OF 2023-2024.] |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | An Act restricting the sale of certain items at flea markets. |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 101 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 2amended by deleting section 18A and inserting in place thereof the following section:— |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 18A. (A) No person, except an authorized manufacturer’s or distributor’s |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 4representative possessing on his or her person written proof of that authorization for public retail |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 5sales, shall sell, offer for sale, or knowingly permit the sale at any flea market, so-called, any of |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 6the following items: |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 7 (i) food manufactured and packaged for sale for consumption by a child under the age of |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 8two years; |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 9 (ii) drugs and cosmetics, as those terms are defined in section one of chapter ninety-four; 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 10 (iii) any product which has an expiration date. |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 11 (B) In this section, “manufacturer’s or distributor’s representative” shall mean a person |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 12who has on his person and available for public inspection written proof that he or she is |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 13authorized by the manufacturer or distributor for the public retail sale of those products which |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 14are offered for sale. Such credentials shall include the seller’s name and may include a date upon |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 15which such authorization shall expire. |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 16 (C) In this section, “flea market” shall mean any location other than a permanent retail |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 17store at which space is rented or otherwise made available to others for the conduct of business |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 18as transient or limited vendors; Transient or limited vendors shall not include those persons who |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 19sell by sample, catalogue or brochure for future delivery, or those persons who make sales |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 20presentations pursuant to a prior invitation issued by the owner or the legal occupant of the |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 21premises. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 22 (D) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 23not less than $100 or more than $1,000 per violation. The sale of each product unit shall |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 24constitute a separate offense, and all such product shall be seized and forfeited to the |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 25Massachusetts Department of Public Health. |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 26 (E) The presenting of credentials pursuant to the requirements of this section which are |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 27false, fraudulent, forged, fraudulently obtained or the nature of which is misrepresented shall also |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 28be considered a prohibited act punishable by the same means as subsection (D) of this section. |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 29 (F) The appropriate law enforcement agency investigating any violation of this Act shall |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 30maintain a record of such violation available for public inspection. |
|---|