Bill Text: NY A00450 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Prohibits price gouging with respect to fuel, energy, and transportation goods and services; directs the attorney general to promulgate rules and regulations requiring the periodic public disclosure by actors in the chain of distribution for fuel sold in or into the state of the prices charged or proposed to be charged for fuel.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A00450 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00450-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           450

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. ROZIC -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Consumer Affairs and Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
          price  gouging  with respect to fuel, energy, and transportation goods
          and services

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Subdivisions 2 and 5 of section 396-r of the general busi-
     2  ness law, subdivision 2 as amended and subdivision 5 as added by chapter
     3  90 of the laws of 2020, are amended to read as follows:
     4    2. During any abnormal disruption of the market for goods and services
     5  vital and necessary for the health, safety and welfare of  consumers  or
     6  the  general  public,  no party within the chain of distribution of such
     7  goods or services or both shall sell or offer to sell any such goods  or
     8  services or both for an amount which represents an unconscionably exces-
     9  sive   price.  For  purposes  of  this  section,  the  phrase  "abnormal
    10  disruption of the market" shall mean any change in the  market,  whether
    11  actual  or  imminently  threatened,  resulting  from  stress of weather,
    12  convulsion of nature, failure or shortage of  electric  power  or  other
    13  source  of  energy,  product recall leading to supply shortages, strike,
    14  civil disorder, war, military action, national or  local  emergency,  or
    15  other cause of an abnormal disruption of the market which results in the
    16  declaration of a state of emergency by the governor. For the purposes of
    17  this  section,  the  term goods and services shall include all goods and
    18  services sold in or into the state  that  are  (a)  consumer  goods  and
    19  services  used,  bought  or  rendered  primarily for personal, family or
    20  household purposes, (b) essential medical supplies and services used for
    21  the care, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of  any  illness  or
    22  disease,  (c)  fuel,  energy, and transportation goods and services, and
    23  [(c)] (d) any other essential goods and services  used  to  promote  the
    24  health  or  welfare  of  the public. This prohibition shall apply to all

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02764-01-3
        A. 450                              2

     1  parties within the chain of distribution for any good or service that is
     2  sold in or into the state, including any manufacturer, supplier,  whole-
     3  saler,  distributor  or retail seller of goods or services or both [sold
     4  by  one  party to another when the product sold was located in the state
     5  prior to the sale]. Goods and services shall also  include  any  repairs
     6  made  by any party within the chain of distribution of goods on an emer-
     7  gency basis as a result of such abnormal disruption of the market.
     8    5. The attorney general shall promulgate rules and regulations requir-
     9  ing the periodic public disclosure by actors in the  chain  of  distrib-
    10  ution  for  fuel  sold  in  or  into  the state of the prices charged or
    11  proposed to be charged for fuel.  The attorney general may also  promul-
    12  gate  rules  and regulations requiring the periodic public disclosure by
    13  actors in the chain of distribution for any goods or services sold in or
    14  into the state of the prices charged or proposed to be charged for  such
    15  goods and services. The attorney general may promulgate such other rules
    16  and   regulations  as  are  necessary  to  effectuate  and  enforce  the
    17  provisions of this section.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.