NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka issued the following statement regarding the signing of the Fair Price Protection Act into law by Gov. Mikie Sherrill today.

“While we can appreciate the intention of strengthening consumer trust and transparency in the pricing of groceries and food goods, this legislation ultimately went to the governor’s desk with a false choice between those consumer protections and operational efficiencies for our store owners –- when it could have achieved both.

“In the end, this law will compromise the very cost-saving programs that consumers rely on, particularly during an affordability crisis. The unintended consequences could very well be the elimination of some loyalty programs, coupons, and other customer-specific discounts due to new limits on consumer data.

“Simultaneously, rather than recognizing the strong consumer protections and unit pricing rules already in place in New Jersey, our policymakers once again sought to go one step further and to make New Jersey businesses the bad guy when most are simply trying to communicate prices in a timelier and more efficient manner.

“Further, this is yet another change in the rules of how to do business in New Jersey, bringing even more uncertainty when our job creators need predictability to conduct business and make investments in the future.”