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Michigan senators consider bills to ban surveillance, dynamic pricing.Michigan senators consider bills to ban surveillance, dynamic pricing LANSING, Mich.— As affordability continues to be a top issue for Michiganders, a pair of bills are making their way through the state Senate that aim to make sure consumers get a fair shake at the cash register.Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) believes, currently, Michiganders are being gouged by what's called surveillance and dynamic pricing."We have a lot of work to do to make sure they're not," she said.McMorrow is a sponsor of legislation to stop the practices, alongside Sen.John Cherry (D-Flint).Increasingly, companies like airlines and hotels use data collected from internet history to give consumers a unique, often more expensive, price.That's considered surveillance pricing.Recently, JetBlue was accused of surveillance pricing when a consumer posted online that a ticket price spiked by more than $200 overnight."The employee who responded to this user on X said 'clear your cache, use incognito mode, search again'." McMorrow said."That's a dead indication of what they're doing if they're telling you what the workaround is.So, we need to make sure that there isn't a workaround required." JetBlue has denied it uses personal data or browsing history in its prices, adding the reply was incorrect."The intent of the legislation is to ensure that consumers are protected, and that the price you're being charged is the same as the price that the person sitting in the seat next to you," McMorrow said.Dynamic pricing sees retailers adjust prices in response to factors like time of day, day of the week, or the current weather.Rideshare companies have done this for some time, and recently, Wendy's backed away from an announcement they planned to introduce it."We use the example of a gallon of milk costing more after 5 p.m.than it does in the middle of the afternoon, when most people can't shop," McMorrow said."That's just simply unfair.So it is our attempt in the state of Michigan to catch up with how quickly this technology is evolving." Senators heard testimony this week from retailers opposed to the bills.Businesses maintain consumers are already protected by a law mandating sticker prices match what they pay."Dynamic pricing is a tool that retailers use overwhelmingly to offer customers more discounts on more items at more times," Drew Beardslee, vice president of government affairs at the Michigan Retailers Association, said."We want to make sure we maintain our ability to do that." Companies like Walmart and DoorDash also expressed concerns, noting retailers don't want to boost prices.They said, however, like consumers, they too are feeling the economic pinch and the bills could hurt their ability to compete."I think there's a right way to make sure that we can protect consumers without stepping on retailers," Beardslee said.McMorrow understands the concerns, but says it's legislators' job to act.The retailers plan to work with senators on the bills, hoping they can get to a point where they support them.