[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 94 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                 S. 94

  To protect the welfare of consumers by prohibiting price gouging by 
  merchants with respect to gasoline or petroleum distillates during 
                  certain abnormal market disruptions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 4, 2007

  Mr. Stevens introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect the welfare of consumers by prohibiting price gouging by 
  merchants with respect to gasoline or petroleum distillates during 
                  certain abnormal market disruptions.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Gasoline Consumer 
Anti-price-gouging Protection Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Protection of consumers against price gouging.
Sec. 3. Justifiable price increases.
Sec. 4. Emergency proclamations and orders.
Sec. 5. Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.
Sec. 6. Penalties.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
Sec. 8. Effective date.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS AGAINST PRICE GOUGING.

    It is unlawful for any supplier to increase the price at which that 
supplier sells, or offers to sell, gasoline or petroleum distillates 
in, or for use in--
            (1) an area covered by a Presidential proclamation issued 
        under section 4(a)(1) by an unconscionable amount during the 
        period beginning on the date the proclamation is issued and 
        ending on the date specified in the proclamation; or
            (2) an area covered by a Federal Trade Commission emergency 
        order issued under section 4(a)(2) by an unconscionable amount 
        during the period beginning on the date the order is issued and 
        ending on the date specified in the order.

SEC. 3. JUSTIFIABLE PRICE INCREASES.

    (a) In General.--The prohibition in section 2 does not apply to the 
extent that the increase in the price of the gasoline or petroleum 
distillate is substantially attributable to--
            (1) an increase in the wholesale cost of gasoline and 
        petroleum distillates to a retail seller or reseller;
            (2) an increase in the replacement costs for gasoline or 
        petroleum distillate sold;
            (3) an increase in operational costs; or
            (4) local, regional, national, or international market 
        conditions.
    (b) Other Mitigating Factors.--In determining whether a violation 
of section 2 has occurred, there also shall be taken into account, 
among other factors, the price that would reasonably equate supply and 
demand in a competitive and freely functioning market and whether the 
price at which the gasoline or petroleum distillate was sold reasonably 
reflects additional costs or risks, not within the control of the 
seller, that were paid or incurred by the seller.

SEC. 4. EMERGENCY PROCLAMATIONS AND ORDERS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Presidential emergency proclamations.--The President 
        may issue an emergency proclamation when an abnormal market 
        disruption has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur.
            (2) FTC emergency orders.--In the absence of a Presidential 
        proclamation under paragraph (1), the Federal Trade Commission, 
        by majority vote, may--
                    (A) determine that an abnormal market disruption 
                affecting more than 1 State has occurred or is 
                reasonably expected to occur; and
                    (B) issue an emergency order if it makes such a 
                determination.
    (b) Scope and Duration.--
            (1) In general.--The emergency proclamation or order--
                    (A) shall specify with particularity--
                            (i) the period for which the proclamation 
                        or order applies; and
                            (ii) the event, circumstance, or condition 
                        that is the reason such a proclamation or order 
                        is determined to be necessary; and
                    (B) may specify the area or region to which it 
                applies, which, for the 48 contiguous States, may not 
                be limited to a single State.
            (2) Limitations.--An emergency proclamation or an order 
        under subsection (a)--
                    (A) may not apply for a period of more than 30 
                consecutive days (renewable for a consecutive period of 
                not more than 30 days); and
                    (B) may apply to a period of not more than 7 days 
                preceding the occurrence of an event, circumstance, or 
                condition that is the reason such a proclamation or 
                order is necessary.

SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

    (a) Violation Is Unfair or Deceptive Act or Practice.--Section 2 of 
this Act shall be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission as if the 
violation of section 2 were an unfair or deceptive act or practice 
proscribed under a rule issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
    (b) Actions by the Commission.--The Commission shall prevent any 
supplier from violating this Act in the same manner, by the same means, 
and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 
applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. 
Any entity that violates any provision of this Act is subject to the 
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the 
Federal Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by the same means, and 
with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties as though all applicable 
terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were 
incorporated into and made a part of this Act.
    (c) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe 
such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to implement this 
Act.

SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

    (a) Civil Penalty.--
            (1) In general.--In addition to any penalty applicable 
        under the Federal Trade Commission Act any supplier who 
        violates this Act is punishable by a civil penalty of--
                    (A) not more than $500,000, in the case of an 
                independent small business marketer of gasoline (within 
                the meaning of section 324(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 
                U.S.C. 7625(c)); and
                    (B) not more than $5,000,000 in the case of any 
                other supplier.
            (2) Method of assessment.--The penalty provided by 
        paragraph (1) shall be assessed in the same manner as civil 
        penalties imposed under section 5 of the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).
            (3) Multiple offenses; mitigating factors.--In assessing 
        the penalty provided by subsection (a)--
                    (A) each day of a continuing violation shall be 
                considered a separate violation; and
                    (B) the Commission shall take into consideration 
                the seriousness of the violation and the efforts of the 
                supplier committing the violation to remedy the harm 
                caused by the violation in a timely manner.
    (b) Criminal Penalty.--
            (1) In general.--In addition to any penalty applicable 
        under the Federal Trade Commission Act, the violation of this 
        Act is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000,000, 
        imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both.
            (2) Enforcement.--The criminal penalty provided by 
        paragraph (1) may be imposed only pursuant to a criminal action 
        brought by the Attorney General or other officer of the 
        Department of Justice, or any attorney specially appointed by 
        the Attorney General of the United States, in accordance with 
        section 515 of title 28, United States Code.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Abnormal market disruption.--The term ``abnormal market 
        disruption'' means there is a reasonable likelihood that, in 
        the absence of a proclamation under section 4(a), there will be 
        an increase in the average price of gasoline or petroleum 
        distillates as a result of a change in the market, whether 
        actual or imminently threatened, resulting from extreme 
        weather, a natural disaster, strike, civil disorder, war, 
        military action, a national or local emergency, or other 
        similar cause, that adversely affects the availability or 
        delivery gasoline or petroleum distillates.
            (2) Supplier.--The term ``supplier'' means any person 
        engaged in the trade or business of selling, reselling, at 
        retail or wholesale, or distributing gasoline or petroleum 
        distillates.
            (3) Unconscionable amount.--The term ``unconscionable 
        amount'' means, with respect to any supplier to whom section 2 
        applies, a significant increase in the price at which gasoline 
        or petroleum distillates are sold or offered for sale by that 
        supplier that increases the price, for the same grade of 
        gasoline or petroleum distillate, to an amount that--
                    (A) substantially exceeds the average price at 
                which gasoline or petroleum distillates were sold or 
                offered for sale by that supplier during the 30-day 
                period immediately preceding the sale or offer;
                    (B) substantially exceeds the average price at 
                which gasoline or petroleum distillates were sold or 
                offered for sale by that person's competitors during 
                the period for which the emergency proclamation 
                applies; and
                    (C) cannot be justified by taking into account the 
                factors described in section 3.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date on which a final rule issued 
by the Federal Trade Commission under section 5(c) is published in the 
Federal Register.
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