List of State Anti-price Gouging Laws

Michael Giberson

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have anti-price gouging laws

In the wake of “Superstorm Sandy” there has been a lot of writing on price gouging. Constantine von Hoffman, CBS Moneywatch, said in his column that only seven of 13 states struck by the storm had laws against price gouging, but he linked to a 2006 survey that is out of date. By my review, every state east of the Mississippi River has a law against price gouging except for Maryland, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Ohio. Nationwide, I count 34 states and the District of Columbia as having anti-price gouging laws.

Here is my current list of states with anti-price gouging laws, noting the date of the initial price gouging law, reference, and occasionally a link to the law or an added note. At the end of the table is a list of resources I’ve used to compile this list (which have been supplemented by some good old-fashioned Google searching). I’ve exercised some care in assembling this list, but there may be errors. Please let me know if you discover one.

List of State Anti-Price Gouging Laws

State	*Year*	Notes
Alabama	1996	Code of Ala. § 8-31-1 thru § 8-31-6. LINK Alabama law; Any commodity or rental facility.
Arkansas	1997	A.C.A. § 4-88-301 – 4-88-305.
California	1994	Cal. Pen. Code § 396.
Connecticut	1986	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-230.
District of Columbia	2007	D.C. Code § 28-4101 thru 28-4102.
Florida	1992	Fla. Stat. § 501.160.
Georgia	1995	O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.4.
Hawaii	1983	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 209-9
Idaho	2002	Idaho Code § 48-603; Food, fuel, pharmaceuticals, water.
Illinois	2005	Ill. Admin. Code tit. 14, §§ 465.10 thru 465.30.
Indiana	2002	Ind. Code §§ 4-6-9.1-1 thru 4-6-9.1-7; Fuel.
Iowa	1993	61 IAC 31.1(714); Merchandise needed by victims of disasters.
Kansas	2002	K.S.A. § 50-6,106; Any necessary property or service.
Kentucky	2004	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 367.374.
Louisiana	1993	La. R.S. 29:732 LINK Louisiana law.
Maine	2006	10 M.R.S.A. § 1105.
Massachusetts	1990	Md. Reg. Code tit. 940, § 3.18; Petroleum products only.
Michigan	*	Mich. Stat. Ann. § 445.903(1)(z); General consumer code provisions not limited to emergencies.
Mississippi	1986	Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-25(2).
Missouri	1994	15 CSR § 60-8.030; Necessities.
New Jersey	2001	N.J.S.A. §§ 56:8-107 to 8:109; LINK New Jersey law; Necessities.
New York	1979	NY Gen Bus §396-r.
North Carolina	2003	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-38; LINK North Carolina law.
Oklahoma	1999	15 OK St. §§ 777.1 thru 777.5.
Oregon	2007	ORS 401.960 thru 401.970; LINK Oregon law; Essential consumer goods and services.
Pennsylvania	2006	Link Pennsylvania law.
Rhode Island	2012	Rhode Island General Laws §30-15-19; Essential commodities including home heating fuels, motor fuels, food and water.
South Carolina	2002	SC Code 39-5-145.
Tennessee	2002	TCA Title 47 Chapter 18 Part 51; LINK Tennesee Law.
Texas	1995	Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.46(b)(27) LINK Texas law; Necessities.
Utah	2005	Utah Code § 13-41-101 thru 13-41-202. Link Utah law; Retail goods and services.
Vermont	2006	9 V.S.A. § 2461d; LINK Vermont law; Petroleum or heating fuel product only.
Virginia	2004	Va. Code §§ 59.1-525 et seq., LINK Virginia law; Any necessary goods and services.
West Virginia	2002	W.V. Code § 46A-6J-1
Wisconsin	2006	Wisc. ATCP Ch. 106; Link Wisconsin law.
		List updated November 3, 2012 by Michael Giberson. Please see list of resources below for useful links on price gouging. (https://knowledgeproblem.com/2012/11/03/list-of-price-gouging-laws/

Resources on price gouging law

Rebecca H. Benavides, “Summary of State ‘Price Gouging’ Statues and Regulations,” Spring 2006. (Benavides credits a 2004 NCSL report, “Price Gouging,” as a key source, but it appears no longer available online.)
Adam Vann, “Gasoline Price Increases: Federal and State Authority to Limit ‘Price Gouging’,” CRS Reports to Congress, RS22236, Updated June 27, 2007.
Cale Wren Davis, “An analysis of the enactment of anti-price gouging laws,” M.A. Thesis, Montana State University, (2008).
Michael Giberson, “The problem with price gouging laws,” Regulation, Spring 2011, 34(1), 48-53.
Brian Skarbek and David Skarbek, “Price is Right: Regulation, Reputation, and Recovery,” Dartmouth Law Journal, 2008.

UPDATE: Here is a graphic presentation. States in blue have laws against price gouging, states in gold do not have laws against price gouging.

2 thoughts on “List of State Anti-price Gouging Laws”

Patrick R. Sullivan
November 3, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Thank goodness Gov. Christie is on duty. Now NJ motorists only have to stand in line every other day! Welcome back, Carter.
Andrew_M_Garland
November 4, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Politicians are using the time-honored way to lower prices. Instead of gas prices rising by 50%, people can buy on alternate days.

But wait. We don’t need an emergency to benefit from this policy. States should decree that gas prices be 30% less, and we can buy gas on alternate days. The savings to the public would be tremendous, and an economic boom would follow. Yes?

Comments are closed.