By: Bryant H.B. No. 3710
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the advertisement of prices by persons selling motor
fuel.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Transparency at the
Pump Act of 2023.
SECTION 2. Title 12, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 610 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 610. TRANSPARENCY IN MOTOR FUEL PRICING
Sec. 610.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Merchant" means a person whose business includes
the sale of motor fuel through motor fuel dispensers to retail
customers.
(2) "Motor fuel" has the meaning assigned by Section
162.001, Tax Code.
(3) "Credit card" means an identification card, plate,
coupon, book, or number or any other device authorizing a
designated person or bearer to obtain property or service on
credit.
(4) "Debit card" means an identification card, plate,
coupon, book, or number or any other device authorizing a
designated person or bearer to communicate a request to an unmanned
teller machine or a customer convenience terminal or to obtain
property or services by debit to an account at a financial
institution.
Sec. 610.002. MOTOR FUEL PRICE DISPLAY REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
merchant shall display the price of the motor fuel mixtures sold by
the merchant with a prominent sign:
(1) on the motor fuel pump; and
(2) by the roadside adjacent to the merchant's
premises.
(b) A merchant shall visibly differentiate the price of the
motor fuel mixtures sold by the merchant to a retail customer paying
with:
(1) cash, a debit card, or a gift card; or
(2) a credit card.
(c) A merchant shall visibly display on the motor fuel pump
any difference between the price of the motor fuel mixture sold by
the merchant to a retail customer paying with cash and the price a
retail customer paying with a debit card, gift card, or credit card
would pay.
(d) A merchant that sells more than one grade of a certain
motor fuel may display the price of only the lowest grade of each
motor fuel sold.
Sec. 610.003. VIOLATION OF CHAPTER; DECEPTIVE TRADE
PRACTICE. A violation of this chapter is a deceptive trade practice
under Subchapter B, Chapter 17, and is actionable under that
subchapter.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an advertisement or sale of motor fuel that takes place on or
after April 1, 2024. An advertisement or sale of motor fuel that
takes place before April 1, 2024, is governed by the law in effect
on the date the advertisement or sale of motor fuel took place, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.