Colorado Center on Law and Policy
03/06/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/06/2026 13:46
CCLP testifies in support of price transparency consumer protections
CCLP testifies in support of price transparency consumer protections
by Charles Brennan| Mar 6, 2026
Consumer Protections, Equity work, Family Economic Security, Income, Legislative Updates, Research and Policy Analysis, Testimony
On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, Charles Brennan, Income and Housing Director at CCLP, provided testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in support of House Bill 26-1012, Consumer Protections to Promote Fair Market Pricing. This bill would have required delivery service apps, like Instacart or GrubHub, to provide consumers with the prices of the delivered goods and the goods available at the store for price transparency and fairness. It would also have prohibited unfair or deceptive trade practices by charging unreasonably excessive prices for goods and services. Unfortunately, the bill was postponed indefinitely.
Chair and Members of the Committee,
My name is Charlie Brennan, and I serve as the Director of Income and Housing Policy for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, an antipoverty organization advancing the rights of every Coloradan. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of HB26-1012.
At its core, this bill is about restoring basic market fairness and price transparency for Colorado's consumers.
In free, competitive markets, prices serve an important role. They allow consumers to compare options and tell businesses how to respond to demand. This system only works when prices are transparent and when consumers have meaningful choices.
Right now, that system is breaking down in ways that are often invisible to consumers.
A recent Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative study found that nearly three-quarters of products examined on Instacart appeared at multiple price points, with differences exceeding 20 percent in some cases[1]. For a typical family of four, those differences could amount to roughly $1,200 per year. When one in four households is struggling to make ends meet, that difference matters-it could be one month's rent.
This is especially important for people who rely on delivery because of disability, care responsibilities, irregular work hours, or lack of transportation. They should not be shown a different set of prices on a delivery platform without being told.
The bill also addresses excessive pricing for "captive consumers." A recent 9NEWS investigation examined pricing at Denver International Airport. Although airport policy states that concession prices should not significantly exceed nearby street prices, the investigation found multiple examples of items priced well above comparable off-airport goods[2]. Once travelers are past security, they have no realistic alternative. In that setting, prices no longer reflect competition. Again, this matters for consumers on a budget who cannot afford to pay as much as twice the market price for goods when they go to the airport or attend a baseball game.
HB26-1012 makes it a deceptive trade practice to charge unreasonably excessive prices to consumers in locations, like airports, where they lack realistic alternatives, while allowing businesses to rebut that presumption if justified.
The pricing practices this bill seeks to address do not increase economic output or improve market efficiency-they are about maximizing profits and allow sellers to take advantage of limited consumer choice or limited consumer information to charge us higher prices.
This bill restores transparency and reinforces a basic principle: prices in Colorado should be clear, comparable, and shaped by competition.
For these reasons, I respectfully urge your support. Thank you.
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Colorado Center on Law and Policy published this content on March 06, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 06, 2026 at 19:46 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]