An Act To Prevent Price Gouging
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1892
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: MILLS, EDMONDS, BRYANT, CUMMINGS, MOODY, PELLETIER-SIMPSON, SCHATZ, BARTLETT, BROMLEY
Amends: 10 MRSA §1105

Legislative Document 
No. 1892 
H.P.1333 
House of Representatives, January 4,2006 
An Act To Prevent Price Gouging 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative MILLS of Farmington. 
Cosponsored by President EDMONDS of Cumberland and 
1J1~ 
1J7.1J7~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BRYANT of Windham, CUMMINGS of Portland, MOODY of Manchester, 
PELLETIER-SIMPSON of Auburn, SCHATZ of Blue Hill, Senators: BARTLETT of 
Cumberland, BROMLEY of Cumberland, BRYANT of Oxford. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1105, as amended by PL 1979, c. 541, Pt. A, 
§9l, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
Sl105. 
Profiteering in necessities 
1. 
Definitions. 
As 
used 
in this section, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
A. 
"Abnormal market disruption" means 
a 
change in the 
market, 
actual 
or 
imminently 
threatened, 
such that 
the 
competitive market for any necessity or necessities in any 
section of the State has ceased to function normally in any 
respect as a result of the impact of a natural disaster, 
stress of weather, failure or shortage of electric power or 
other source of energy, strike, civil disorder, war, terror 
or a national or local emergency or another precipitating 
event occurring in any location, local or remote. 
B. 
"Necessities" 
includes 
food 
for 
human 
or 
altMn-2.1 
consumption; pharmaceutical products, including prescription 
medications; wearing apparel; shoes; building materials; gas 
and electricity for light, heat and power; ice; fuel of all 
kinds; and fertilizer and fertilizer ingredients; together 
with tools, utensils, 
implements, 
machinery and equipment 
required for the actual production or manufacture of the 
same. 
"Necessities" includes any other vital or necessary 
good or service except those: 
(1) 
Subject to continuous 
maximum price regulation 
under the provisions of any state or federal law; 
(2) 
As to which the State's authority is preempted; or 
(3) 
Furnished or provided by: 
(a) 
Insurers; or 
(b) 
Nonprofit 
hospitals, 
medical 
service 
organizations or health maintenance organizations 
authorized to transact business within the State 
pursuant to Title 24 and Title 24-A. 
2. 
Profiteering prohibited. 
During 
an 
abnormal 
market 
disruption, a person may not sell or offer for sale necessities 
at a price that exceeds by more than 15% the price at which 
similar goods or services were offered for sale or sold by that 
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person immediately prior to the abnormal market disruption unless 
the price increase is attributable to increased cost • 
.3. 
Atto~_ney Gen~:L.Jt~i::jJ.j;..iQn. 
Whenever it appears upon 
due inquiry that an abnormal market disruption exists, or that 
there 
is 
a 
substantial 
likelihood that 
an 
abnormal 
market 
disruption is imminent, the Attorney General may, in the Attorney 
General's 
sole 
discretion, 
declare 
an 
abnormal 
market 
disruption. 
The Attorney General's declaration must specify the 
particular necessity, necessities or categories of necessities 
that are subject to the abnormal market disruption. 
The Attorney 
General shall cause the declaration to be published in a manner 
reasonably calculated to give affected persons adequate notice. 
The declaration expires when the Attorney General declares it 
expired or 60 days from the date of its issuance, whichever is 
sooner. 
4. 
Civil violation. 
Profiteering in necessities during an 
abnormal market disruption is a civil violation that constitutes, 
and may be prosecuted as, 
an unfair act or practice in the 
conduct of trade or commerce pursuant to Title 5, section 207, 
except that the provisions of Title 5, section 213 do not apply 
to profiteering in necessities. 
The existence of an abnormal 
market disruption constitutes an element of the violation that 
must be affirmatively proven, 
except that when 
the Attorney 
General 
has 
declared 
an 
abnormal 
market 
disruption, 
the 
declaration creates a rebuttable presumption that the disruption 
occurred and existed from the date of the declaration to the date 
of its expiration. 
5. 
Rulemating. 
The 
Attorney 
General 
may 
adopt 
rules 
implementing this section, including, but not limited 
to, rules 
~verning required 
methods 
of 
publication 
and 
notice 
under 
subsection 3. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law that prohibits profiteering in 
necessities. 
It establishes a 
ceiling of 15% plus costs on 
increases in prices for 
necessities of life affected 
by 
an 
abnormal market disruption due to natural disaster, stress of 
weather, failure or shortage of electric power or other source of 
energy, strike, civil disorder, war, terror or a national or 
local emergency or another precipitating event.