HUNTINGTON, N.Y. -- Suffolk County, N.Y., Legislator Jon Cooper (D) has crafted legislation that he said is aimed at fair prices at the pump, said the Long Island Press.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously by the Suffolk Legislature, goes after not just individual gas stations that gouge their prices, but also their distributors, said the report.
This is the first bill to go after the motor fuel distributors as well as the stations, Cooper said. The distributors, which are owned by big oil companies such as ExxonMobil, [image-nocss] Shell and Texaco, are being held accountable for overcharging as well.
The fines in Suffolk County for gas gouging are up to $500 for the stations, and up to $1,000 or 15 days in jail for the distributors, the report said.
Cooper said he sympathizes with the honest stations, noting how this problem is the result of a few bad apples rotting the bunch. There are a lot of stations out there operating miniscule margins, Cooper told the newspaper. If the price of gas increases too much in the same day, many stations face the choice of over-charging to cover expenses or close their pumps. This bill is designed to protect them as well as the consumers.
He added, Gas prices to the stations themselves can increase more than once over the course of a day. If gas stations can show, with documented proof, that the gas prices increased more than once during a day, they will be allowed to raise their prices accordingly. But they have to stay at the same rate they are being charged.
The Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association (LIGRA) supports Cooper's legislation. This resolution will hinder illegitimate retailers from cheating the public while allowing legitimate retailers to remain viable, LIGRA Executive Director Kathryn Odessa said in a statement.
Cooper said he hopes that this legislation like this will spread around the state. Hopefully, laws like these will spring up over Long Island, and make their way up to Albany, he said.
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