disaster or emergency under section 401 or 501 of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 5191) and 
within the area in which the disaster or emergency 
is declared a person— 
(A) may not increase the price as of the 
day before such date by more than 10 per-
cent— 
(i) with respect to essential consumer 
goods and services, hotel lodging, and resi-
dential rental properties, for a period of 30 
days; and 
(ii) with respect to repair or recon-
struction services, for a period of 180 days; 
and 
(B) may not charge a price for essential 
consumer goods and services, hotel lodging, res-
idential rental property, or reconstruction serv-
ices that is more than 50 percent greater than 
the cost to the person for 30 days after such 
date if the person did not charge that price be-
fore such date. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition described in 
paragraph (1) does not apply as follows: 
(A) If the increased price— 
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(i) is— 
(I) directly attributable to addi-
tional cost paid by the person to a 
supplier of the goods or for labor or 
materials used to provide services; and 
(II) is not more than 10 percent 
greater than the total of the cost to 
the person plus the markup custom-
arily applied by that seller for that 
good or service in the usual course of 
business immediately prior to the 
onset of the major disaster or emer-
gency; or 
(ii) is directly attributable to tariffs or 
national trade policies. 
(B) For a hotel or motel rate, if the in-
creased price is attributable to seasonable ad-
justments that are regularly scheduled. 
(C) For a rental rate, if the increased price 
is directly attributable to additional costs for 
repairs or additions beyond normal maintenance 
that were amortized over the rental term that 
caused the rent to be increased greater than 10 
percent or that an increase was contractually 
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agreed to by the tenant prior to the disaster or 
emergency. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION.— 
(1) UNFAIR
OR
DECEPTIVE
ACTS
OR
PRAC-
TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) or a regulation 
promulgated under such subsection shall be treated 
as a violation of a regulation under section 
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or decep-
tive acts or practices. 
(2) POWERS
OF
COMMISSION.—The Federal 
Trade Commission shall enforce subsection (a) and 
any regulation promulgated under such subsection 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 incor-
porated into and made a part of this Act. Any per-
son who violates such subsection or a regulation pro-
mulgated under such subsection shall be subject to 
the penalties described in subsection (e) and entitled 
to the privileges and immunities provided in the 
Federal Trade Commission Act. 
(c) ACTIONS BY STATES.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the at-
torney general of a State, or an official or agency of 
a State, has reason to believe that an interest of the 
residents of such State has been or is threatened or 
adversely affected by an act or practice in violation 
of subsection (a) or a regulation promulgated under 
such subsection, the State, as parens patriae, may 
bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 
State in an appropriate State court or an appro-
priate district court of the United States to— 
(A) enjoin such act or practice; 
(B) enforce compliance with such sub-
section or such regulation; 
(C) obtain damages, restitution, or other 
compensation on behalf of residents of the 
State; or 
(D) obtain such other legal and equitable 
relief as the court may consider to be appro-
priate. 
(2) NOTICE.—Before filing an action under this 
subsection, the attorney general, official, or agency 
of the State involved shall provide to the Commis-
sion a written notice of such action and a copy of 
the complaint for such action. If the attorney gen-
eral, official, or agency determines that it is not fea-
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sible to provide the notice described in this para-
graph before the filing of the action, the attorney 
general, official, or agency shall provide written no-
tice of the action and a copy of the complaint to the 
Commission immediately upon the filing of the ac-
tion. 
(3) AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—On receiving notice 
under paragraph (2) of an action under this 
subsection, the Commission shall have the 
right— 
(i) to intervene in the action; 
(ii) upon so intervening, to be heard 
on all matters arising therein; and 
(iii) to file petitions for appeal. 
(B) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE 
FEDERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commis-
sion or the Attorney General of the United 
States has instituted a civil action for violation 
of subsection (a) or a regulation promulgated 
under such subsection (referred to in this sub-
paragraph as the ‘‘Federal action’’), no State 
attorney general, official, or agency may bring 
an action under this subsection during the 
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pendency of the Federal action against any de-
fendant named in the complaint in the Federal 
action for any violation of such subsection or 
regulation alleged in such complaint. 
(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of 
bringing a civil action under this subsection, nothing 
in this Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney 
general, official, or agency of a State from exercising 
the powers conferred on the attorney general, offi-
cial, or agency by the laws of such State to conduct 
investigations, administer oaths and affirmations, or 
compel the attendance of witnesses or the production 
of documentary and other evidence. 
(d) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A person injured by an act 
or practice in violation of subsection (a) or a regula-
tion promulgated under such subsection may bring 
in an appropriate State court or an appropriate dis-
trict court of the United States— 
(A) an action to enjoin the violation; 
(B) an action to recover damages for ac-
tual monetary loss from the violation; or 
(C) both such actions. 
(2) WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—If the court finds 
that the defendant acted willfully in committing a 
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violation described in paragraph (1), the court may, 
in its discretion, increase the amount of the award 
to an amount equal to not more than 3 times the 
amount available under paragraph (1)(B). 
(3) COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES.—The court 
shall award to a prevailing plaintiff in an action 
under this subsection the costs of such action and 
reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the 
court. 
(4) LIMITATION.—An action may be com-
menced under this subsection not later than 2 years 
after the date on which the person first discovered 
or had a reasonable opportunity to discover the vio-
lation. 
(5) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy pro-
vided by this subsection shall be in addition to any 
other remedies available to the person. 
(e) AMOUNT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the pen-
alties described in subsection (b), the amount deter-
mined under this paragraph is the amount cal-
culated by multiplying the number of violations of 
subsection (a) by an amount not greater than 
$25,000. Each violation shall be treated as a sepa-
rate violation. 
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(2) MAXIMUM
TOTAL
LIABILITY.—Notwith-
standing the number of actions which may be 
brought against a person under subsection (b), the 
total amount of civil penalties assessed against such 
person for all violations of subsection (a) and the 
regulations promulgated under such subsection re-
sulting from the same or related acts or practices 
may not exceed $25,000. 
(3) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Beginning 
on the date that the Consumer Price Index is first 
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that is 
at least 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, and each year thereafter, the amount speci-
fied in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be increased by 
the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer 
Price Index published on such date from the Con-
sumer Price Index published the previous year. 
(4) FUNDING
FOR
DISASTER
ZONES.—Any 
amount recovered under subsection (b) shall be de-
posited into a fund to assist communities located in 
an area affected by a major disaster or emergency 
declared by the President under section 401 or 501 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 5191). 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
(2) ESSENTIAL CONSUMER GOODS AND SERV-
ICES.—The term ‘‘essential consumer goods and 
services’’ means goods and services that are nec-
essary for survival and recovery during and after a 
major disaster or emergency and include any of the 
following: 
(A) Food and drink, including food and 
drink for animals. 
(B) Emergency supplies such as water, 
generators, flashlights, radios, batteries, can-
dles, blankets, soap, diapers, temporary shel-
ters, tape, toiletries, plywood, nails, and ham-
mers. 
(C) Medical supplies such as prescription 
and non prescription medications, bandages, 
gauze, isopropyl alcohol, and antibacterial prod-
ucts. 
(D) Home heating oil. 
(E) Building and construction materials 
such as lumber, construction tools, and win-
dows. 
(F) Transportation. 
(G) Freight. 
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(H) Storage services. 
(I) Gasoline and other motor fuels. 
(g) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—Nothing in this Act 
may be construed to preempt any provision of State law 
that does not conflict with this Act. 
Æ 
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