LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan House on Wednesday approved legislation increasing fines for gas station owners who purposely defraud the public by violating the state's laws pertaining to the accuracy of the pumps, State Representative Richard Ball (R) said.
We heard testimony in committee about a couple of stations that adjusted their pumps to improperly charge customers for gas they were not receiving or purposely put a lower grade of gas in the premium pump, said Ball. I wanted to make sure this legislation strongly targeted those stations that are [image-nocss] intentionally defrauding the public. We understand that occasionally pumps malfunction or a mistake is made, but those stations that are adjusting their pumps at the expense of the customers should be severely punished.
House Bill 4502, sponsored by State Rep. Fran Amos (R), immediately punishes those who intentionally violate the Weights & Measures Act with fines of $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 for first, second and third offenses, respectively. In addition, the state Department of Agriculture may close a station for any of these violations until the problem is corrected. The department will be required to inspect, at least annually, any station with three or more intentional violations.
Amos said the legislation would give consumers peace of mind when they went to get their gasoline. Since there is no way for a customer to actually see how much gas they are getting or test the grade themselves, it is important they can trust the station to give them what they are paying for, she said. As with any public trust, those that purposely abuse it should be strongly penalized.
The legislationpassed by a 104 to 0 votenow goes to the state Senate for its consideration, added an Associated Press report.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.