Chapter 372
2025 -- S 0017 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/01/2025

A N   A C T
RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES

Introduced By: Senators Ujifusa, Ruggerio, Lawson, and Tikoian

Date Introduced: January 23, 2025

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Section 6-13.1-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-13.1 entitled "Deceptive
Trade Practices" is hereby amended to read as follows:
     6-13.1-1. Definitions.
     As used in this chapter:
     (1) “Documentary material” means the original or a copy of any book, record, report,
memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, map, chart, photograph, mechanical
transcription, or other tangible document or recording wherever situated.
     (2) “Examination” of documentary material includes the inspection, study, or copying of
any documentary material, and the taking of testimony under oath or acknowledgment in respect
of any documentary material or copy of any documentary material.
     (3) “Person” means natural persons, corporations, trusts, partnerships, incorporated or
unincorporated associations, and any other legal entity.
     (4) “Rebate” means the return of a payment or a partial payment that serves as a discount
or reduction in price.
     (5) “Trade” and “commerce” mean the advertising, offering for sale, sale, or distribution
of any services and any property, tangible or intangible, real, personal, or mixed, and any other
article, commodity, or thing of value wherever situate, and include any trade or commerce directly
or indirectly affecting the people of this state.
     (6) “Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices” means any
one or more of the following:
     (i) Passing off goods or services as those of another;
     (ii) Causing likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship,
approval, or certification of goods or services;
     (iii) Causing likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding as to affiliation, connection,
or association with, or certification by, another;
     (iv) Using deceptive representations or designations of geographic origin in connection
with goods or services;
     (v) Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics,
ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities that they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship,
approval, status, affiliation, or connection that he or shethe person does not have;
     (vi) Representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered,
reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand; and if household goods have been repaired or
reconditioned, without conspicuously noting the defect that necessitated the repair on the tag that
contains the cost to the consumer of the goods;
     (vii) Representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality, or grade, or
that goods are of a particular style or model, if they are of another;
     (viii) Disparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading
representation of fact;
     (ix) Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell them as advertised;
     (x) Advertising goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public
demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity;
     (xi) Making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the reasons for, existence of,
or amounts of price reductions;
     (xii) Engaging in any other conduct that similarly creates a likelihood of confusion or of
misunderstanding;
     (xiii) Engaging in any act or practice that is unfair or deceptive to the consumer;
     (xiv) Using any other methods, acts, or practices that mislead or deceive members of the
public in a material respect;
     (xv) Advertising any brand name goods for sale and then selling substituted brand names
in their place;
     (xvi) Failure to include the brand name and orand/or manufacturer of goods in any
advertisement of the goods for sale, and, if the goods are used or secondhand, failure to include the
information in the advertisement;
     (xvii) Advertising claims concerning safety, performance, and comparative price unless
the advertiser, upon request by any person, the consumer council, or the attorney general, makes
available documentation substantiating the validity of the claim;
     (xviii) Representing that work has been performed on or parts replaced in goods when the
work was not in fact performed or the parts not in fact replaced; or
     (xix) Failing to separately state the amount charged for labor and the amount charged for
services when requested by the purchaser as provided for in § 44-18-12(b)(3).
     (xx) Advertising for sale at a retail establishment the availability of a manufacturer’s rebate
by displaying the net price of the advertised item (the price of the item after the rebate has been
deducted from the item’s price) in the advertisement, unless the amount of the manufacturer’s
rebate is provided to the consumer by the retailer at the time of the purchase of the advertised item.
It shall be the retailer’s burden to redeem the rebate offered to the consumer by the manufacturer.
     (xxi) Advertising, displaying, or offering a price for live-event tickets or short-term lodging
in violation of 16 C.F.R. Part 464.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.
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