As wildfire season ramps up and after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Siskiyou County, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a reminder that price gouging in times of emergency is illegal.
Wildfires continue to destroy homes and prompt evacuations for thousands of residents, which can lead to a greater demand to essential products like food, emergency supplies, medical supplies and gasoline.
Bonta said that retailers are prohibited from raising their prices more than 10 percent following a state or local declaration of emergency. For items that begin selling after a declaration, the seller cannot increase its price by more than 50 percent.
The law also applies to repair and cleanup services, transportation services, hotel and rental accommodations and storage services.
Those who violate the law can face up to one year in prison or a fine of $10,000, in addition to civil penalties of $2,500 per violation.
“California’s price gouging law prevents businesses from overcharging Californians for essential services and supplies during their moment of need. As Attorney General, I will use the full powers of my office to protect vulnerable Californians from those who would take advantage,” Bonta said in a statement.
Residents can report cases of price gouging to the local authorities or the attorney general at oag.ca.gov/report.
Mary Knox would of went after these gouging businesses. Too bad Becton just sits on her behind all day busy releasing criminals
Totally agree!
Then maybe the Attorney General and Governor should be looking into a prosecuting those that ripped off those in Paradise. Especially those out of state contractors that were allowed to come in and price gouge to rebuild but did nothing but leave homeowners with have built homes.
Just walk out and don’t pay.
all B$
they’ll make a few token prosecutions for show…
Yet they’ll do nothing about the gouging that happens daily….
… so we see prices almost double on a LOT of things… is anybody going after grocery stores, hardware stores, big box stores? nooooooooo
Price gouging, though an unpleasant sounding name, actually serves a good purpose…it incentivizes others to provide the goods/services others need and ensures the good /service is offered where it is needed most. When high demand meets short supply, prices SHOULD increase. As demand wanes, prices will decrease accordingly. The free market economy has a way of naturally meeting the needs of a community…its gov’t intervention such as measures like this that messes things up.
Caskeydriver, you are spot on. I am surprised to see so many comments posted by so called ‘conservatives’ that don’t understand the basic concepts of supply and demand.
Then there’s PG&E…
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Have them do their shopping at the local grocery stores. Then they could see it going on for themselves.
California price gouging is best exemplified by the taxes we pay. In return we receive very little. This is where the real grifting takes place.
Newsom and Bonta are simply using retail price gouging as a distraction from their own failures.
Add Clorox bleach to that list. Their regular version bleach is now $8 / gallon.
If you think you’ve found a bargain…..you’re looking at the non germicidal or non disinfectant version.
I’ll just buy the generic stuff instead.
So, make sure all of your price gouging is in place BEFORE the emergency!
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And rightful citizens of the US remind Governor Newsome and Attorney General Bonta that persons crossing the US border from Mexico without lawful permission is ILLEGAL.
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@Exit 12A
+1
Is this a joke? After his father (Bliden) cut off the oil, spent too much money caused prices to rise he is now talking about gouging. Democrats are a wonder.
The people who keep on reelecting Democrats are the real “wonder”. I’d say useful-idiot, without being useful.
The people who keep on reelecting Democrats are the real “wonder”. I’d say useful-idiot, without being useful.