[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4114 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4114

To prohibit the sale of crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, 
      or petroleum distillates at an unjust or unreasonable price.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 2005

 Mr. LoBiondo (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, and Mrs. Emerson) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the sale of crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, 
      or petroleum distillates at an unjust or unreasonable price.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Price Discipline Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. UNJUST OR UNREASONABLE FUEL PRICING.

    It shall be unlawful for any entity engaged in the petroleum or 
gasoline business to sell crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural 
gas, or petroleum distillates at an unjust or unreasonable price.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION RULEMAKING.

    Not later than 90 days after the the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall promulgate any rules necessary 
to enforce this Act. Such rules shall establish what constitutes an 
unjust or unreasonable price for purposes of this Act. In promulgating 
such rule, the Commission shall consider the following factors:
            (1) The relation of the price to the prevailing price of 
        that commodity in the market in the same geographic region 
        during the previous 12-month period.
            (2) Shipping, manufacturing, or other costs to the entity.
            (3) Whether there has been a national or regional 
        disruption in the supply of the commodity.
            (4) Whether there is any indication of the entity taking 
        unfair advantage of any circumstances.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

    (a) Unfair and Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of section 2 
and the rules promulgated pursuant to this Act shall be treated as a 
violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice 
prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission 
Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
    (b) Enforcement.--The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this 
Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and provisions of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of 
this Act.
    (c) Priority of Enforcement Actions.--In enforcing section 2, the 
Federal Trade Commission shall give priority to enforcement actions 
concerning any entity engaged in the petroleum or gasoline business 
earning profits in the refining, sale, exchange, or shipping of crude 
oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, or petroleum distillates in 
excess of $500,000,000 per year.
    (d) Civil Penalties.--Consistent with section 5 of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45), an entity engaged in the petroleum 
or gasoline business that violates section 2 shall be subject to a fine 
of not more than $11,000 per violation.

SEC. 5. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

    Any person who violates section 2 shall be fined under title 18, 
United States Code--
            (1) if a corporation, not to exceed $100,000,000; or
            (2) if any other person, not to exceed $1,000,000, or 
        imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Entity.--For the purpose of this Act, the term ``entity engaged 
in the petroleum or gasoline business'' means an individual or 
corporation engaged in the refining, sale, exchange, or shipping of 
crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, or petroleum 
distillates.

SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    Nothing in this Act annuls, alters, or affects in any manner the 
meaning, scope, or applicability of the laws of any State or 
subdivision of a State relating to price gouging, except to the extent 
those laws are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, and then 
only to the extent of the inconsistency.
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