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Local Reps Applaud Governor For

Efforts to Stop Price Gouging

Oregon State Reps. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie) and Debbie Boone (D-Canon Beach) applauded Governor Ted Kulongoski for invoking Senate Bill 118 to help coastal residents devastated by the recent storm by issuing a special designation barring price gouging that often occurs during disaster situations.

The bill, introduced at the request of Attorney General Hardy Meyers and passed in the 2007 session, gives the Governor authority to declare an “abnormal disruption of the marketplace” and was designed specifically for this kind of emergency situation. The announcement was made in a press release by the Governor earlier today.

Reps. Boone and Witt, representing large portions of the coast where the storm caused extensive damage, said the designation was welcome news.

“As fast as these disasters hit, there are always a few unscrupulous people out there trying to take advantage of the situation,” said Boone. “While we are certainly not happy that it is our area of the state where this designation first occurs in Oregon, I am grateful that we passed this legislation last session.  I also want to thank the governor, his staff and everyone who pitched in and is working so hard to help our communities recover from this disaster.”

Rep. Witt added, “The people of this community have come together to help each other through these tough times. Business owners who live and work here on the coast are not the ones this law is targeted at. Rather, as we saw in the aftermath of Katrina, and will likely soon see here, there will be people coming to our community who want to take advantage of our misfortune. This gives us another tool to stop them.”

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