{ "id": "RS22236", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RS22236", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 390152, "date": "2011-08-23", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:00:09.525634", "title": "Gasoline Price Increases: Federal and State Authority to Limit \u201cPrice Gouging\u201d", "summary": "Fluctuations in gasoline prices in recent years have renewed focus on the role of the government in discouraging \u201cprice gouging,\u201d a term commonly used to refer to sellers inflating prices to \u201cunfair\u201d levels in order to take advantage of certain circumstances causing a decrease in supply, including emergencies. There have been legislative efforts to create a federal law addressing gasoline price gouging, including bills that would bar certain commercial practices as well as legislation that mandated the study of pricing of gasoline in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.\nWhile the federal government has not enacted legislation aimed specifically at addressing price gouging for gasoline, a majority of states have enacted statutes to curtail price gouging for certain critical goods and services, including fuel, during emergencies. Some of these statutes attempt to address price gouging by barring pricing during emergencies that is considered to be \u201cunconscionable\u201d or \u201cexcessive\u201d or otherwise is in violation of a subjective standard. Other statutes place a hard cap on prices during periods of emergency based on percentage increases from prices charged for the good or service in question prior to the emergency. All of these state statutes provide leeway if it can be shown that the price increases are the result of increased costs rather than simply a change in the marketplace.\nAt least three bills introduced in the 112th Congress would create a federal law that specifically addresses price gouging in response to emergencies. H.R. 964, H.R. 1748, and H.R. 1899 all contain language similar to the language found in the state statutes that attempt to curtail price gouging through limits or controls on pricing during declared periods of emergency. As of the date of this report, all three bills had been referred to House subcommittees, but no further action on them had been taken.\nAlthough there is no federal law aimed specifically at price gouging, federal antitrust laws do forbid various types of anticompetitive business practices. For example, Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits unreasonable restraints of trade. It is possible that if a group of gasoline retailers or other retailers collaborated to set prices unreasonably high during an emergency, this \u201cprice gouging\u201d could be a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. In addition, while not necessarily tied to retail price gouging, federal statutes addressing monopolies and vertical integration may play a role in evaluating retail gasoline price changes.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RS22236", "sha1": "7ed4e90094423a409c0b2718fe8250069183f89f", "filename": "files/20110823_RS22236_7ed4e90094423a409c0b2718fe8250069183f89f.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RS22236", "sha1": "b8cfd5c3f147c4fafa8788924cdc78f262eb3807", "filename": "files/20110823_RS22236_b8cfd5c3f147c4fafa8788924cdc78f262eb3807.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4402, "name": "Energy Law and Policy" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4575, "name": "Derivatives Regulation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820581/", "id": "RS22236_2007Jun27", "date": "2007-06-27", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Gasoline Price Increases: Federal and State Authority to Limit \u2018Price Gouging\u2019", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070627_RS22236_f73d16e275d60944fac11a25949854c365e8ebde.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070627_RS22236_f73d16e275d60944fac11a25949854c365e8ebde.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810633/", "id": "RS22236_2007Mar19", "date": "2007-03-19", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Gasoline Price Increases: Federal and State Authority to Limit \u201cPrice Gouging\u201d", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070319_RS22236_02cd12771cbed8292799583db3b01c528d0531ae.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070319_RS22236_02cd12771cbed8292799583db3b01c528d0531ae.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs10159/", "id": "RS22236_2006May18", "date": "2006-05-18", "retrieved": "2007-06-20T14:40:56", "title": "Gasoline Price Increases: Federal and State Authority to Limit \"Price Gouging\"", "summary": "In the aftermath of last year\u2019s hurricane season, questions arose regarding increased prices in the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma and the effect that the damage caused by the hurricanes would have on prices, specifically gasoline prices, in other parts of the country. As gasoline prices have continued to rise in the months since, Congress has considered legislation addressing gasoline and oil prices that includes provisions related to price gouging. The House has recently passed two bills that include a federal prohibition on price gouging (H.R. 3893 and H.R. 5253). This report discusses state laws regarding price gouging, the role of the federal government in addressing rising gas prices, and selected federal legislative proposals specific to price gouging.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20060518_RS22236_9868e9bc8a561e145b872d247e9ee4b5c42b1dd3.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20060518_RS22236_9868e9bc8a561e145b872d247e9ee4b5c42b1dd3.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Economic policy", "name": "Economic policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Hurricane Katrina (2005)", "name": "Hurricane Katrina (2005)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Price regulation - U.S. - Law", "name": "Price regulation - U.S. - Law" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "State and local government", "name": "State and local government" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808439/", "id": "RS22236_2006May01", "date": "2006-05-01", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Gasoline Price Increases: Federal and State Authority to Limit \u201cPrice Gouging\u201d", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20060501_RS22236_ac900e8d7404c0e46061680fa7bda618b9a97b01.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20060501_RS22236_ac900e8d7404c0e46061680fa7bda618b9a97b01.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs7555/", "id": "RS22236 2005-09-15", "date": "2005-09-15", "retrieved": "2005-10-24T11:37:42", "title": "Price Increases in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Authority to Limit Price Gouging", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050915_RS22236_7538d749bdb5c2d5b86c84101df335ea3aba82ba.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050915_RS22236_7538d749bdb5c2d5b86c84101df335ea3aba82ba.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Economic policy", "name": "Economic policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Hurricane Katrina (2005)", "name": "Hurricane Katrina (2005)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Price regulation - U.S. - Law", "name": "Price regulation - U.S. - Law" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Price regulation - U.S. - State laws", "name": "Price regulation - U.S. - State laws" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "State and local government", "name": "State and local government" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs7554/", "id": "RS22236 2005-09-02", "date": "2005-09-02", "retrieved": "2005-10-24T11:37:31", "title": "Price Increases in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Authority to Limit Price Gouging", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050902_RS22236_b6b1474c471e6e7381d96de17642457afbbf8cd8.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050902_RS22236_b6b1474c471e6e7381d96de17642457afbbf8cd8.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Economic policy", "name": "Economic policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Hurricane Katrina (2005)", "name": "Hurricane Katrina (2005)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Price regulation - U.S. - Law", "name": "Price regulation - U.S. - Law" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Price regulation - U.S. - State laws", "name": "Price regulation - U.S. - State laws" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "State and local government", "name": "State and local government" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Energy Policy" ] }