LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) testified today before the Senate Committee on Economic and Small Business Development on bills he and Sen. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly) sponsored to ensure Michigan consumers are protected from price gouging during a declared state of emergency, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“Michigan residents have been hurt enough by this global health crisis and we need protections in place to ensure people have the means to pay their bills and provide for their families without being ripped off by predatory vendors,” Sen. Moss said. “Michigan must join the majority of other states that have the tools to go after unscrupulous individuals who gouge the prices of emergency supplies.”
The office of Attorney General Dana Nessel also testified in strong support of the three-bill package.
Senate Bills 846-848, introduced in March and modeled after similar legislation in 34 other states and Washington D.C., would prohibit an individual or business from pricing an essential good or service with an unjustified disparity of more than 10% its price preceding, during, and reasonably after the state of emergency.
In addition to a public health threat, like Michigan’s current state of emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the bills would also define an emergency as:
- A natural or manmade disaster resulting from a tornado, earthquake, flood, fire, riot, storm, act of war, threat of war, military action or the time of instability following a terrorist attack for which a state of emergency is declared by the president or governor;
- An imminent alert issued in the National Terrorism Advisory System by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; or,
- A severe weather warning issued by the National Weather Service.
Items protected from price gouging under the proposal would include food, emergency and medical supplies, housing and lodging, and gasoline and propane.
###