As consumers face daily gas price hikes, charges of gouging are filling the air as they did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
But even if such accusations are true, Maryland has no price-gouging law on the books, said Kevin
Enright, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General.
Without such a law, the state must prove oil companies are price-fixing under the Antitrust Act and Maryland?s Consumer Protection Act. Otherwise, gas prices can continue to rise unchecked.
Attorney General Joseph Curran addressed price-gouging during this year?s legislative session of the General Assembly by throwing his support behind such a bill, but it never got a first reading.
“Attorney General Curran was extremely disappointed that this legislation did not pass,” Enright said. “Marylanders deserve the same protection that is afforded the citizens of most other states in this country during a state of emergency.”
If the legislature had passed the bill, gas retailers, distributors and suppliers would not be able to raise their prices more than 10 percent, when the governor declared a state of emergency. Gas retailers who could show that the increase was a result of increase prices would be exempted.
Ten percent price caps were among many reasons the Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors? Association strongly opposed the price-gouging bill, said Peter Horrigan, the association?s president.
“It was framed as a price-gouging bill, but it was really a price-control bill,” said Horrigan.
An analysis of the bill by the Department of Legislative Services found that its enactment could have hurt retailers.
Because the costs of oil and gasoline can fluctuate by more than 10 percent during any 14- to 60-day period, “this bill could negatively impact a seller by more than can be recouped under the bill?s price limits,” wrote Guy G. Cherry, a senior policy analyst for the agency.
Horrigan said his membership might have supported a price-gouging bill that would have kicked in after a 20 percent increase.
Curran?s spokesman is not sure whether the attorney general will push price-gouging legislation during the next session.
“This office has spent considerable time and effort the past two sessions seeking this legislation, to no avail,” Enright said.
The FTC viewpoint
U.S. Federal Trade Commission?s position on federal price-gouging legislation:
» “Even if Congress outlaws price gouging, the law likely would be difficult to enforce fairly. The difficulty for station managers, as well as for enforcers, is knowing when the managers have raised prices ?too much,? as opposed to responding to reduced supply conditions.”
» “The Commission remains persuaded that federal price gouging legislation would unnecessarily hurt consumers. Enforcement of the antitrust laws is the better way to protect consumers.”
