Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes slams state Republicans for blocking a bill targeting price gouging.
The bill, SB1714 would have made it a felony to raise prices “excessively” on essential products, like water and medical supplies, during a state emergency.
Excessive price hikes would be defined as 10% increases or more within a month of the start of the emergency.
The bill was introduced by Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan (D-Tucson) and co-sponsored by most of the chamber’s other Democrats. It never received a hearing in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Mayes said in a statement that the bill would have given her the power to prosecute price gougers and protect Arizonans facing disaster.
“Arizonans should never have to worry that a disaster will be made worse by someone trying to make a fast buck off their suffering,” Mayes wrote. “That is exactly what price gouging laws are designed to stop. When floods wiped out businesses and homes in Globe and Miami last fall, Arizonans needed protection. My office proposed the tools needed to go after this problem. Republicans in the Legislature have decided we shouldn’t have that authority. That is a choice and Arizonans should know they made it.”
The bill would have allowed the attorney general to investigate cases of price gouging.
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