II 

110TH CONGRESS 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Gasoline Consumer Anti-price-gouging Protection Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 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. 


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Sec. 4. Emergency proclamations and orders. 

Sec. 5. Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission. 

Sec. 6. Penalties. 

Sec. 7. Definitions. 

Sec. 8. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS AGAINST PRICE 

2 GOUGING. 

3 It is unlawful for any supplier to increase the price 

4 at which that supplier sells, or offers to sell, gasoline or 

5 petroleum distillates in, or for use in— 

6 (1) an area covered by a Presidential proclama7 tion issued under section 4(a)(1) by an unconscion8 able amount during the period beginning on the date 

9 the proclamation is issued and ending on the date 

10 specified in the proclamation; or 

11 (2) an area covered by a Federal Trade Com12 mission emergency order issued under section 

13 4(a)(2) by an unconscionable amount during the pe14 riod beginning on the date the order is issued and 

15 ending on the date specified in the order. 

16 SEC. 3. JUSTIFIABLE PRICE INCREASES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The prohibition in section 2 does 

18 not apply to the extent that the increase in the price of 

19 the gasoline or petroleum distillate is substantially attrib20 utable to— 

21 (1) an increase in the wholesale cost of gasoline 

22 and petroleum distillates to a retail seller or reseller; 


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1 (2) an increase in the replacement costs for 

2 gasoline or petroleum distillate sold; 

3 (3) an increase in operational costs; or 

4 (4) local, regional, national, or international 

5 market conditions. 

6 (b) OTHER MITIGATING FACTORS.—In determining 

7 whether a violation of section 2 has occurred, there also 

8 shall be taken into account, among other factors, the price 

9 that would reasonably equate supply and demand in a 

10 competitive and freely functioning market and whether the 

11 price at which the gasoline or petroleum distillate was sold 

12 reasonably reflects additional costs or risks, not within the 

13 control of the seller, that were paid or incurred by the 

14 seller. 

15 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY PROCLAMATIONS AND ORDERS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (1) PRESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY PROCLAMA18 TIONS.—The President may issue an emergency 

19 proclamation when an abnormal market disruption 

20 has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur. 

21 (2) FTC EMERGENCY ORDERS.—In the absence 

22 of a Presidential proclamation under paragraph (1), 

23 the Federal Trade Commission, by majority vote, 

24 may— 


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1 (A) determine that an abnormal market 

2 disruption affecting more than 1 State has oc3 curred or is reasonably expected to occur; and 

4 (B) issue an emergency order if it makes 

5 such a determination. 

6 (b) SCOPE AND DURATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The emergency proclamation 

8 or order— 

9 (A) shall specify with particularity— 

10 (i) the period for which the proclama11 tion or order applies; and 

12 (ii) the event, circumstance, or condi13 tion that is the reason such a proclamation 

14 or order is determined to be necessary; and 

15 (B) may specify the area or region to 

16 which it applies, which, for the 48 contiguous 

17 States, may not be limited to a single State. 

18 (2) LIMITATIONS.—An emergency proclamation 

19 or an order under subsection (a)— 

20 (A) may not apply for a period of more 

21 than 30 consecutive days (renewable for a con22 secutive period of not more than 30 days); and 

23 (B) may apply to a period of not more 

24 than 7 days preceding the occurrence of an 

25 event, circumstance, or condition that is the 


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1 reason such a proclamation or order is nec2 essary. 

3 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 

4 (a) VIOLATION IS UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACT OR

5 PRACTICE.—Section 2 of this Act shall be enforced by the 

6 Federal Trade Commission as if the violation of section 

7 2 were an unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed 

8 under a rule issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Fed9 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

10 (b) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—The Commis11 sion shall prevent any supplier from violating this Act in 

12 the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 

13 jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable 

14 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and 

16 made a part of this Act. Any entity that violates any provi17 sion of this Act is subject to the penalties and entitled 

18 to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal 

19 Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by the same 

20 means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties 

21 as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Fed22 eral Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and 

23 made a part of this Act. 

24 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:39 Jan 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S94.IS S94

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1 mission shall prescribe such regulations as may be nec2 essary or appropriate to implement this Act. 

3 SEC. 6. PENALTIES. 

4 (a) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any penalty 

6 applicable under the Federal Trade Commission Act 

7 any supplier who violates this Act is punishable by 

8 a civil penalty of— 

9 (A) not more than $500,000, in the case of 

10 an independent small business marketer of gas11 oline (within the meaning of section 324(c) of 

12 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7625(c)); and 

13 (B) not more than $5,000,000 in the case 

14 of any other supplier. 

15 (2) METHOD OF ASSESSMENT.—The penalty 

16 provided by paragraph (1) shall be assessed in the 

17 same manner as civil penalties imposed under sec18 tion 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 45). 

20 (3) MULTIPLE OFFENSES; MITIGATING FAC21 TORS.—In assessing the penalty provided by sub22 section (a)— 

23 (A) each day of a continuing violation shall 

24 be considered a separate violation; and 


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1 (B) the Commission shall take into consid2 eration the seriousness of the violation and the 

3 efforts of the supplier committing the violation 

4 to remedy the harm caused by the violation in 

5 a timely manner. 

6 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any penalty 

8 applicable under the Federal Trade Commission Act, 

9 the violation of this Act is punishable by a fine of 

10 not more than $1,000,000, imprisonment for not 

11 more than 2 years, or both. 

12 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The criminal penalty pro13 vided by paragraph (1) may be imposed only pursu14 ant to a criminal action brought by the Attorney 

15 General or other officer of the Department of Jus16 tice, or any attorney specially appointed by the At17 torney General of the United States, in accordance 

18 with section 515 of title 28, United States Code. 

19 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ABNORMAL MARKET DISRUPTION.—The 

22 term ‘‘abnormal market disruption’’ means there is 

23 a reasonable likelihood that, in the absence of a 

24 proclamation under section 4(a), there will be an in25 crease in the average price of gasoline or petroleum 


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1 distillates as a result of a change in the market, 

2 whether actual or imminently threatened, resulting 

3 from extreme weather, a natural disaster, strike, 

4 civil disorder, war, military action, a national or 

5 local emergency, or other similar cause, that ad6 versely affects the availability or delivery gasoline or 

7 petroleum distillates. 

8 (2) SUPPLIER.—The term ‘‘supplier’’ means 

9 any person engaged in the trade or business of sell10 ing, reselling, at retail or wholesale, or distributing 

11 gasoline or petroleum distillates. 

12 (3) UNCONSCIONABLE AMOUNT.—The term 

13 ‘‘unconscionable amount’’ means, with respect to 

14 any supplier to whom section 2 applies, a significant 

15 increase in the price at which gasoline or petroleum 

16 distillates are sold or offered for sale by that sup17 plier that increases the price, for the same grade of 

18 gasoline or petroleum distillate, to an amount that— 

19 (A) substantially exceeds the average price 

20 at which gasoline or petroleum distillates were 

21 sold or offered for sale by that supplier during 

22 the 30-day period immediately preceding the 

23 sale or offer; 

24 (B) substantially exceeds the average price 

25 at which gasoline or petroleum distillates were 


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1 sold or offered for sale by that person’s com2 petitors during the period for which the emer3 gency proclamation applies; and 

4 (C) cannot be justified by taking into ac5 count the factors described in section 3. 

6 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 This Act shall take effect on the date on which a final 

8 rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission under sec9 tion 5(c) is published in the Federal Register. 

Æ 


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