Bill to End Price Gouging Floated at Capitol

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Attorney General says his office has received thousands of complaints of price gouging since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new piece of legislation introduced at the Capitol this week aims to make price gouging during an emergency illegal.

Representative Zach Stephenson says taking advantage of people is “morally wrong to see people trying to profit to an absurd extent off of the pain and misery of other human beings.”

Economists have long debated the effectiveness of price-gouging laws and whether some language needs to be more specific. But Stephenson says his plan is very specific. His bill would define an “excessive” price as at least 25% higher than the average set by retailers just before the emergency.

Stephenson says his plan has safeguards for business owners, too. While it wouldn’t address some of the recent price-gouging claims during higher inflation, he says it’s worth looking into for non-emergency situations, including in the energy sector. “For example you know, we have the Public Utilities Commission. But perhaps there’s a space to give them more power and the attorney general more power to prevent price gouging in the energy world.”

A similar idea has been talked about for prescription drugs. Nearly 40 states have laws addressing price gouging in various ways. If approved, Stephenson’s plan for emergencies would be the first such law for Minnesota.

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MNC Reporter Mike Moen contributed to this story.
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