Posted: | January 23, 2023 03:22 PM |
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From: | Representative Nick Pisciottano |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | The Stop Price Fixing Act |
With the prices of goods rising across the globe and here at home, it’s clear that there are significant financial pressures on the pocketbooks of Pennsylvanians. During periods of rapid price fluctuations, it’s important that consumers are protected from bad actors who seek to use price volatility as an excuse to pad their bottom line. While scarcity and higher costs certainly can result in higher prices, profiteers shouldn't be allowed to collude to fix prices or artificially raise prices in search of additional profit at the expense of working Pennsylvanians. To protect consumers, I am introducing legislation called the Stop Price Fixing Act which will enhance the ability of the Attorney General to prosecute individuals and businesses that collude to artificially raise prices on any good bought or sold in Pennsylvania. This Act will provide the Attorney General with additional tools to prove price fixing cases which are typically difficult to prosecute. In addition, the Act provides protections to whistleblowers to encourage individuals with knowledge of price fixing violations to come forward. As prices at the gas pump and in the grocery store check-out line continue to rise for all of our constituents, the General Assembly can take action to ensure that these price increases are a result of actual economic realities and not bad faith actions seeking inflated profits on the backs of working families. For our economy to work for all Pennsylvanians, it should be fair and open with protections for consumers' wallets. Please join me in co-sponsoring the Stop Price Fixing Act. Previous co-sponsors: HOHENSTEIN, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, BENHAM, D. WILLIAMS, BRIGGS, MADDEN, SCHLOSSBERG, DELLOSO, MILLARD, PARKER, BIZZARRO, SNYDER, CIRESI, O'MARA, DEASY, N. NELSON, ZABEL, ABNEY, ISAACSON, A. DAVIS, McNEILL, T. DAVIS, FITZGERALD, INNAMORATO, STURLA, MERSKI, WARNER, GUZMAN, MARKOSEK, KRUEGER, DALEY, MALAGARI, D. MILLER, OTTEN, PASHINSKI, HERRIN and KINKEAD |
Introduced as HB828