David Weldon: “I rise in opposition to price gouging. The good news for Florida consumers is that the state of Florida already has the…”

“I rise in opposition to price gouging. The good news for Florida consumers is that the state of Florida already has the ability to protect consumers from price gouging. Florida law finds that gouging has occurred when a commodity's price represents a ``gross disparity'' from the average price of that commodity during the 30 days immediately prior to the declared emergency. This applies unless the increase is attributable to additional costs incurred by the seller or to national or international market trends. In fact, Florida law enforcement fully investigated over 58 cases of alleged gouging after Tropical Storm Rita. Violators of Florida's anti-gouging law are subject to civil penalties of $1,000 per violation. In 2005, the State of Florida enacted criminal penalties for those who engage in price gouging. In addition to the protections that Florida consumers already have in place through State law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission has the authority to investigate and bring charges against those that engage in price gouging. In a significant departure from previous legislation addressing this issue, Floridians who are gouged would not receive a rebate. Instead, H.R. 1252 would direct any fines collected from gougers to a program that largely benefits the Northeast and the Midwest.”