NY State Senate Bill 2019-S7932

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 03, 2020	referred to consumer protection

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2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10159
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §396-rrr, Gen Bus L

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits price gouging with respect to medical supplies during a public health emergency.

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7932

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
price gouging with respect to medical supplies during a public health
emergency

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill creates a new section 396-rrr of the General Busi-
ness Law to prohibit manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, distribu-
tors, and retail sellers of consumer medical supplies from selling or
offering for sale consumer medical supplies for unconscionably excessive
prices during a declared public health emergency.

The new section 396-rrr creates a rebuttable presumption that a price is
unconscionably excessive if it is more than 10% above the price charged
immediately prior to the declared public health emergency.  Violations
of section 396-rrr would be enforced by the Attorney General, who may
seek an order enjoining or restraining the alleged unlawful acts, and

may also seek civil penalties of up to $25,000 and/or order restitution
to aggrieved consumers.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Under New York's current price gouging statute (Section 396-r of the
General Business Law), the determination whether a price charged for a
good or service is "unconscionably excessive" during an "abnormal
disruption of the market" is a matter for courts to determine. Such a
determination is often time and fact-intensive, and reliant on an exten-
sive body of case law.

During a public health emergency, it is imperative that New Yorkers'
access to health-preserving and possibly life-saving consumer medical
supplies not be impeded by opportunistic actors throughout the distrib-
ution chain seeking to profit from the emergency. Under this newly-
created section of the General Business Law, manufacturers, distribu-
tors, retailers and the public would be on notice that a price increase
of more than 10% during a declared public health emergency carries a
presumption of being unconscionably excessive, and therefore illicit
price gouging.

Any entity charged with price gouging during a public health emergency
would be entitled to rebut an alleged violation of this new law with
evidence that the additional costs not within the control of the defend-
ant were imposed on the defendant for the consumer medical supplies.

Several other states use a 10' increase as the threshold for establish-
ing a rebuttable presumption of price gouging, including California, New
Jersey, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia, as well as Washing-
ton, DC.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None, new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7932
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 3, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. HOYLMAN, KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer
   Protection
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
   price gouging with respect to medical supplies during a public  health
   emergency
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 396-rrr to read as follows:
   § 396-RRR. PRICE GOUGING; MEDICAL  SUPPLIES  DURING  A  PUBLIC  HEALTH
 EMERGENCY.  1.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS
 SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY" SHALL MEAN A PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH
 THE GOVERNOR HAS MADE A STATE DECLARATION OF DISASTER EMERGENCY PURSUANT
 TO SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW; AND
   (B) "CONSUMER MEDICAL SUPPLIES" SHALL MEAN GOODS  AND  PRODUCTS  USED,
 BOUGHT OR RENDERED PRIMARILY FOR PERSONAL, FAMILY, OR HOUSEHOLD PURPOSES
 USED  FOR  THE  CARE,  CURE,  MITIGATION,  TREATMENT,  OR  PREVENTION OF
 ILLNESSES OR DISEASES; SUCH TERM SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE  LIMITED  TO:
 BANDAGES,  GAUZE,  OR  DRESSINGS;  HAND  SANITIZER, ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT,
 RUBBING ALCOHOL, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, SALINE SOLUTION; MEDICAL OR SURGICAL
 MASKS; MEDICAL OR SURGICAL  GLOVES;  TISSUES;  OVER-THE-COUNTER  MEDICA-
 TIONS;  AND  ANY  OTHER  GOODS OR PRODUCTS IDENTIFIED IN EMERGENCY REGU-
 LATIONS PROMULGATED BY THE COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  HEALTH
 DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
   2. NO MANUFACTURER, SUPPLIER, WHOLESALER, DISTRIBUTOR OR RETAIL SELLER
 OF  CONSUMER  MEDICAL  SUPPLIES  SHALL  SELL  OR OFFER FOR SALE ANY SUCH
 CONSUMER MEDICAL SUPPLIES FOR AN AMOUNT WHICH REPRESENTS AN  UNCONSCION-
 ABLY EXCESSIVE PRICE DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
   3. (A) A PRICE IS NOT AN "UNCONSCIONABLY EXCESSIVE PRICE" IF IT IS TEN
 PERCENT OR LESS ABOVE THE PRICE CHARGED BY THAT SELLER FOR SUCH CONSUMER
 MEDICAL SUPPLIES IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD15648-02-0

 S. 7932                             2
 
   (B)  A  DEFENDANT  MAY  REBUT  A  PRIMA FACIE CASE BASED ON AN ALLEGED
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION WITH EVIDENCE THAT ADDITIONAL COSTS NOT WITHIN
 THE CONTROL OF THE DEFENDANT WERE  IMPOSED  ON  THE  DEFENDANT  FOR  THE
 CONSUMER MEDICAL SUPPLIES.
   4.  WHERE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IS ALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED, THE
 ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY APPLY IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW
 YORK TO THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHIN  THE  JUDICIAL
 DISTRICT  IN  WHICH  SUCH  VIOLATIONS  ARE  ALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED, ON
 NOTICE OF FIVE DAYS, FOR AN ORDER ENJOINING OR RESTRAINING COMMISSION OR
 CONTINUANCE OF THE ALLEGED UNLAWFUL ACTS. IN ANY  SUCH  PROCEEDING,  THE
 COURT  SHALL  IMPOSE  A CIVIL PENALTY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWENTY-
 FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS  AND,  WHERE  APPROPRIATE,  ORDER  RESTITUTION  TO
 AGGRIEVED CONSUMERS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S7932

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

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co-Sponsors

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S7932 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments