Council Passes Gouging Bill

The City Council overwhelmingly passed legislation (43-6) to limit price gouging at gas stations in order to protect consumers as gas prices continue to climb towards the $4 per gallon mark.
Councilmember John Liu, Chair of the Transportation Committee proposed the legislation that will limit gas stations to increasing prices once in a 24-hour period and punish stations that do so more than once with fines that could reach $10,000.
&#8220The people we are looking to protect here are consumers and the public,” Liu said. &#8220Most businesses do not price gouge, but there are some that take advantage of the situation, and we have to respond.”
Recently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has expressed some concerns with this legislation saying that it curtails private enterprise in our free market system.
Bloomberg has not stated publicly whether he would veto the bill, but Liu said that with the overwhelming support in the Council, it could override any veto.
The City Council passed the bill on June 19, and Bloomberg has 30 days to sign the bill into law, veto it or not act on it, which would have the same ramifications as signing it into law.