New York lawmakers have approved raising the maximum penalty for price gouging from $10,000 to $25,000 in addition to restitution for aggrieved consumers.
According to Senate and Assembly sponsors, the higher amount is needed to deter businesses from exploiting emergencies to make excessive profits. The Senate also passed it in 2006 and 2007.
Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, a Queens Democrat, says the provision doesn't address current high gas prices, and the law applies more narrowly to gouging in storms or other emergencies.In 2006, the state Attorney General's Office sued three gas stations, citing pump prices that were raised by 25 to 72 percent immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico.
