THE GOVERNOR
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
[48 Pa.B. 7109]
[Saturday, November 10, 2018]
Notice of Veto; Senate Bill No. 1172, Printer's No. 2094 October 24, 2018
To the Honorable Senate of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:Pursuant to Article IV, Section 15 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, I am returning herewith, without my approval, Senate Bill 1172, Printer's Number 2094.
Instead of protecting consumers by prohibiting price gouging for needed goods and services during a state of disaster emergency, this legislation shifts the burden to a consumer during a state of disaster emergency. The purpose of the Price Gouging Act is to prohibit parties from taking an unfair advantage of consumers by charging unconscionably excessive prices during an emergency. This legislation alters the existing standard in determining price gouging and permits pre-established increased costs during emergencies. Further, the legislation encourages the prices of consumer goods and services to be increased prior to a state of disaster emergency being declared. This legislation undermines the purpose of the act by reducing the standard for determining an unconscionable excessive price and shortens the period of this prohibition.
My administration has outlined legislative actions that can be taken to further address declarations of emergencies, including the declaration of public health emergencies. Rather than burdening consumers, I look forward to continuing to work with the General Assembly to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth during a public health emergency.
For the reasons set forth above, I must withhold my signature from Senate Bill 1172, Printer's Number 2094.
Sincerely,
Governor
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 18-1740. Filed for public inspection November 9, 2018, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.