In times of crisis, we need a stronger hand against price gouging in Washington

When the global pandemic hit our state, Washingtonians rushed to purchase necessary emergency supplies. As demand for products like hand sanitizer, masks and toilet paper skyrocketed, some businesses saw an opportunity to maximize their profits by gouging consumers. Many individuals found themselves forced to pay exorbitant prices for these essential items.

Out of necessity, Washingtonians were paying $40 for an 8-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer that had recently cost $3.50, and $42 for masks that used to cost $8.

These predatory prices disproportionately impacted seniors and low-income Washingtonians, as well as the businesses that support them, such as home health care agencies and adult family homes.

They made it harder for Washingtonians to afford supplies recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect individuals and public health by mitigating the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Examples like these shocked our collective conscience. The Attorney General’s Office launched a campaign to combat price gouging. The office fielded more than 1,300 price gouging-related complaints.

Many Washingtonians responded to the Attorney General’s “See it, Snap it, Send it” campaign by sending in photographs of excessive prices they saw in retail outlets and online.

In response to the complaints, the AG’s Office made more than 3,000 phone calls to businesses and consumers. Investigators in the office followed up on leads by visiting hundreds of businesses all over the state. The office sent dozens of cease-and-desist letters to price-gouging businesses.

All this work to combat price gouging was necessary to compensate for an unfortunate gap in state law.

Washington’s Consumer Protection Act generally prohibits unfair business practices, but Washington has no express prohibition on price gouging, leaving Washingtonians more vulnerable.

Washington is an outlier in this respect. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws that explicitly prohibit price gouging.

That’s why we’re teaming up to pass a state law that clearly and definitively outlaws this practice. Not only will this new law protect Washingtonians during emergencies, it will be good for businesses too.

Some businesses impacted by the pandemic were afraid to raise prices, even after their costs associated with acquiring certain products increased, for fear any increases would be interpreted as price gouging. Consequently, they sold their products at a loss.

Businesses, however, are not required to sell essential supplies for a loss.; increased prices resulting from increased costs is not price gouging.

Price gouging is the predatory exploitation of an emergency in order to maximize profits.

Our proposal, Senate Bill 5191, prohibits excessive price increases on essential products, goods and services during a declared state of emergency.

The list of protected goods and services includes necessary health care services, medical supplies, rental housing, motels, gasoline and emergency supplies such as water, batteries, soap and toiletries.

Our proposal allows businesses to recover costs incurred due to external factors such as an increase in labor or transportation costs. This will provide important protections for Washingtonians, as well as clarity and certainty to the business community.

We’re proud our legislation earned the endorsement of the AARP’s 900,000 Washington members.

If the Legislature enacts our proposal, those who engage in predatory price gouging will face real accountability — a penalty of $25,000 per violation, which is more than 12 times the penalty for violations of the Consumer Protection Act.

Those who put profits over people during an emergency must be held accountable.

We don’t know what the next state of emergency will look like or when it will strike. But in a crisis, Washingtonians must retain access to affordable, necessary medical care and emergency supplies.

The bill is scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. public hearing on Monday (Feb. 8), which can be viewed at https://www.tvw.org. For information about how to testify, visit https://app.leg.wa.gov/csiremote/senate.

Bob Ferguson is Washington state’s elected attorney general. Sen. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, represents Washington’s 27th Legislative District.