74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 965
Senate Bill 118
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
of the President (at the request of Attorney General Hardy
Myers for Department of Justice)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Authorizes Governor to declare abnormal disruption of market
under specified circumstances. Prohibits merchants and
wholesalers from charging unconscionably excessive prices for
essential consumer goods or services during declaration of
abnormal disruption of market. Punishes violation as unlawful
trade practice.
Declares emergency, effective on passage.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to protection of consumers from unconscionably excessive
prices; creating new provisions; amending ORS 401.025 and
646.607; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + (1) The Legislative Assembly finds that during
an abnormal disruption of the market, some merchants and
wholesalers have taken unconscionable advantage of consumers by
charging grossly excessive prices for essential consumer goods
and services.
(2) To prevent merchants and wholesalers from taking
unconscionable advantage of consumers during an abnormal
disruption of the market, the Legislative Assembly declares that
the public interest requires that charging unconscionably
excessive prices be prohibited and made subject to regulation as
an unlawful trade practice. + }
SECTION 2. { + Sections 3 and 4 of this 2007 Act are added to
and made a part of ORS 401.015 to 401.105. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) If the Governor determines that an abnormal
disruption of the market has occurred, the Governor may declare
an abnormal disruption of the market by a proclamation, as part
of a state of emergency declared under ORS 401.055, or both.
(2) The Governor's declaration of an abnormal disruption of the
market under subsection (1) of this section shall specify:
(a) The geographical area covered by the declaration. The area
may be no larger than necessary to effectively respond to the
abnormal disruption of the market.
(b) The date and time at which the abnormal disruption of the
market commenced. The date of commencement of the abnormal
disruption of the market may precede the date on which the
declaration is made.
(3) The Governor's declaration of an abnormal disruption of the
market is subject to termination:
(a) By the Governor when the Governor determines that an
abnormal disruption of the market no longer exists.
(b) At any time by joint resolution of the Legislative
Assembly. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) As used in this section, the terms '
merchant' and 'wholesaler' do not include a public body as that
term is defined in ORS 174.109.
(2) A merchant or wholesaler may not sell or offer to sell
essential consumer goods or services for an amount that
represents an unconscionably excessive price during a declaration
of an abnormal disruption of the market under section 3 of this
2007 Act.
(3) It is a question of law whether a price is unconscionably
excessive. Proof that a price is unconscionably excessive may be
shown by evidence that:
(a) The amount charged for essential consumer goods or services
exceeds by 15 percent or more the price at which the goods or
services were sold or offered for sale by the merchant or
wholesaler in the usual course of business immediately prior to
or during a declaration of an abnormal disruption of the market;
or
(b) The amount charged for the essential consumer goods or
services exceeds by 15 percent or more the price at which the
same or similar consumer goods or services were readily
obtainable by other consumers in or near the geographical area
covered by the declaration of an abnormal disruption of the
market.
(4) Evidence described in subsection (3) of this section
constitutes prima facie proof of a violation of this section. It
is an affirmative defense to any claim of a violation of this
section that the amount charged by the merchant or wholesaler is:
(a) Attributable to additional costs imposed by the merchant's
or wholesaler's suppliers or necessarily incurred in procuring
the essential consumer goods or services immediately prior to or
during the declaration of an abnormal disruption of the market;
or
(b) The result of increased costs unrelated to the declaration
of an abnormal disruption of the market. + }
SECTION 5. ORS 401.025 is amended to read:
401.025. As used in ORS 401.015 to 401.105, 401.260 to 401.325
and 401.355 to 401.580, unless the context requires otherwise:
{ + (1) 'Abnormal disruption of the market' means any human
created or natural event or circumstance that causes essential
consumer goods or services to be not readily available. + }
{ - (1) - } { + (2) + } 'Beneficiary' has the meaning given
that term in ORS 656.005.
{ - (2) - } { + (3) + } 'Commission' means the Seismic
Safety Policy Advisory Commission established under ORS 401.337.
{ - (3) - } { + (4) + } 'Emergency' includes any
{ - human caused - } { + human created + } or natural event or
circumstance causing or threatening loss of life, injury to
person or property, human suffering or financial loss, and
includes { - , but is not limited to, fire, explosion, flood,
severe weather, drought, earthquake, volcanic activity, spills or
releases of oil or hazardous material as defined in ORS 466.605,
contamination, utility or transportation emergencies, disease,
blight, infestation, crisis influx of migrants unmanageable by
the county, civil disturbance, riot, sabotage and war - } { + a
crisis influx of migrants unmanageable by a county + }.
{ - (4) - } { + (5) + } 'Emergency management agency' means
an organization created and authorized under ORS 401.015 to
401.105, 401.260 to 401.325 and 401.355 to 401.580 by the state,
county or city to provide for and assure the conduct and
coordination of functions for comprehensive emergency program
management.
{ - (5) - } { + (6) + } 'Emergency program management'
includes all the tasks and activities necessary to provide,
support and maintain the ability of the emergency services system
to prevent or reduce the impact of emergency or disaster
conditions which includes, but is not limited to, coordinating
development of plans, procedures, policies, fiscal management,
coordination with nongovernmental agencies and organizations,
providing for a coordinated communications and alert and
notification network and a public information system, personnel
training and development and implementation of exercises to
routinely test the emergency services system.
{ - (6) - } { + (7) + } 'Emergency program manager' means
the person administering the emergency management agency of a
county or city.
{ - (7) - } { + (8) + } 'Emergency service agency' means an
organization within a local government which performs essential
services for the public's benefit prior to, during or following
an emergency. This includes, but is not limited to,
organizational units within local governments, such as law
enforcement, fire control, health, medical and sanitation
services, public works and engineering, public information and
communications.
{ - (8) - } { + (9) + } 'Emergency service worker' means an
individual who, under the direction of an emergency service
agency or emergency management agency, performs emergency
services and:
(a) Is a registered volunteer or independently volunteers to
serve without compensation and is accepted by the Office of
Emergency Management or the emergency management agency of a
county or city; or
(b) Is a member of the Oregon State Defense Force acting in
support of the emergency services system.
{ - (9) - } { + (10) + } 'Emergency services' includes
those activities provided by state and local government agencies
with emergency operational responsibilities to prepare for and
carry out any activity to prevent, minimize, respond to or
recover from an emergency. These activities include, without
limitation, coordination, preparedness planning, training,
interagency liaison, fire fighting, oil or hazardous material
spill or release cleanup as defined in ORS 466.605, law
enforcement, medical, health and sanitation services, engineering
and public works, search and rescue activities, warning and
public information, damage assessment, administration and fiscal
management, and those measures defined as 'civil defense' in
{ - section 3 of the Act of January 12, 1951, P.L. 81-920 (50
U.S.C. 2252) - } { + 50 U.S.C. app. 2252 + }.
{ - (10) - } { + (11) + } 'Emergency services system' means
that system composed of all agencies and organizations involved
in the coordinated delivery of emergency services.
{ + (12) 'Essential consumer goods or services' means goods
or services that:
(a) Are or may be bought or acquired primarily for personal,
family or household purposes, including but not limited to
residential construction materials or labor, shelter for payment
such as a hotel room, food, water or petroleum products such as
gasoline or diesel fuel; and
(b) Are necessary for the health, safety or welfare of
consumers.
(13) 'Human created or natural event or circumstance '
includes, but is not limited to, fire, explosion, flood, severe
weather, landslides or mud slides, drought, earthquake, volcanic
activity, tsunamis or other oceanic phenomena, spills or releases
of oil or hazardous material as defined in ORS 466.605,
contamination, utility or transportation emergencies, disease,
blight, infestation, civil disturbance, riot, sabotage, acts of
terrorism or war. + }
{ - (11) - } { + (14) + } 'Injury' means any personal
injury sustained by an emergency service worker by accident,
disease or infection arising out of and in the course of
emergency services or death resulting proximately from the
performance of emergency services.
{ - (12) - } { + (15) + } 'Local government' means any
governmental entity authorized by the laws of this state.
{ - (13) - } { + (16) + } 'Major disaster' means any event
defined as a ' major disaster' under 42 U.S.C. 5122(2).
{ - (14) - } { + (17) + } 'Oregon emergency management
plan' means the state emergency preparedness operations and
management plan. The Office of Emergency Management is
responsible for coordinating emergency planning with government
agencies and private organizations, preparing the plan for the
Governor's signature, and maintaining and updating the plan as
necessary.
{ - (15) - } { + (18) + } 'Search and rescue' means the
acts of searching for, rescuing or recovering, by means of ground
or marine activity, any person who is lost, injured or killed
while out of doors. However, 'search and rescue' does not include
air activity in conflict with the activities carried out by the
Oregon Department of Aviation.
{ - (16) - } { + (19) + } 'Sheriff' means the chief law
enforcement officer of a county.
SECTION 6. ORS 646.607 is amended to read:
646.607. A person engages in an unlawful practice when in the
course of the person's business, vocation or occupation the
person:
(1) Employs any unconscionable tactic in connection with { +
the + } sale, rental or other disposition of real estate, goods
or services, or collection or enforcement of an obligation;
{ - or - }
(2) Fails to deliver all or any portion of real estate, goods
or services as promised, and upon request of the customer, fails
to refund any money that has been received from the customer that
was for the purchase of the undelivered real estate, goods or
services and that is not retained by the seller pursuant to any
right, claim or defense asserted in good faith. This subsection
does not create a warranty obligation and does not apply to a
dispute over the quality of real estate, goods or services
delivered to a customer { + ; or
(3) Violates section 4 of this 2007 Act + }.
SECTION 7. { + (1) Section 3 of this 2007 Act applies to
events or circumstances that occur on or after the effective date
of this 2007 Act.
(2) Section 4 of this 2007 Act and the amendments to ORS
646.607 by section 6 of this 2007 Act apply to sales or offers to
sell essential consumer goods or services that are made on or
after the effective date of this 2007 Act.
(3) The remedies provided in section 4 of this 2007 Act and in
the amendments to ORS 646.607 by section 6 of this 2007 Act are
in addition to any other remedies that may exist under the
law. + }
SECTION 8. { + This 2007 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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