| (a) Definitions.
(1) horizontal price fixing--a price fixing agreement:
(A) between competitors on the same level of distribution,
such as a price fixing agreement between two or more bingo equipment
or supplies manufacturers; or
(B) between two or more bingo equipment or supplies
distributors; or
(C) between two or more suppliers.
(2) price fixing agreement--an express or implied agreement
to fix, set, control, maintain, or stabilize prices at any level.
(3) supplier--a licensed or unlicensed manufacturer
or distributor of bingo equipment or supplies or any person, group,
or entity with an ownership interest of 10% or greater in a manufacturer
or distributor of bingo equipment or supplies.
(4) vertical price fixing--a price fixing agreement
between parties on different levels of the same chain of distribution
regarding the price that one of the parties will charge further down
the distribution chain, such as an agreement between a bingo equipment
or supplies manufacturer and a bingo equipment or supplies distributor
regarding the price that the bingo equipment or supplies distributor
will charge to the licensed authorized organization.
(b) Horizontal Price Fixing Prohibited.
(1) Horizontal price fixing agreements are prohibited.
(2) Evidence of uniform prices or exchange of past
or historical price information alone shall not be sufficient to establish
a violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection or Texas Occupations
Code §2001.556.
(c) Vertical Price Fixing Prohibited.
(1) Vertical price fixing agreements are prohibited.
(2) Each distributor shall have full discretion in
setting the distributor's sales or lease prices for bingo equipment
or supplies to authorized organizations.
(3) A manufacturer may not set or control the sales
or lease price that a distributor charges a licensed authorized organization
for bingo equipment or supplies.
(4) A manufacturer may not set a minimum price on any
sales or lease price that a distributor charges a licensed authorized
organization for bingo equipment or supplies.
(5) A manufacturer may not prohibit a distributor from
offering price discounts, rebates, credits, promotional allowances,
or any other arrangement affecting the price paid by the purchaser
or lessee of bingo equipment or supplies, to a licensed authorized
organization.
(6) A manufacturer may not terminate a distributor's
contract for failure to charge the manufacturer's suggested retail
price.
(7) Discussions, suggestions, or the exchange of information
between a manufacturer and a distributor regarding the sales or lease
price charged by a distributor to a licensed authorized organization
are not, in and of themselves, violations of this subsection or Texas
Occupations Code §2001.556, so long as the distributor retains
discretion to establish its sales or lease price to licensed authorized
organizations.
(8) Nothing in Texas Occupations Code §2001.556
shall prevent a manufacturer and distributor from negotiating or establishing
the sales or lease price that the distributor will pay to the manufacturer
for bingo equipment or supplies.
(d) It is not a defense to horizontal or vertical price
fixing that the fixed or agreed upon price is reasonable.
(e) Recordkeeping Requirements. Manufacturers and distributors
shall retain contracts, invoices or other documents sufficient to
show wholesale and retail pricing information for a period of forty-eight
months. This documentation shall be made available to the Commission
upon request, in accordance with §2001.216, Texas Occupations
Code.
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