On the heels of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issuing a price-gouging consumer alert, a senator and two district attorneys have unveiled new legislation to combat it.
Sen. Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) in association with Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan introduced Senate Bill 1196, which will help prosecute instances of price gouging by new merchants.
“The previous law didn’t take into account entrepreneurs who would purchase an exorbitant amount of wipes and toilet paper from stores and then resell them in an open free market at an exorbitant price,” Spitzer told the Southern California Record.
Price gouging. Exorbitant pricing has always been illegal and punishable by law under a state of emergency but the code has not been updated in 28 years.
Penal Code Section 396 currently states that a vendor is guilty of price-gouging if he or she charges “a price of more than 10 percent greater than the price charged by that person for those goods or services immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration or emergency,” which bans established merchants from overcharging with certain goods but doesn’t include language about new vendors, according to a press release.
“Californians should not be exploited during a pandemic,” Spitzer said. “In an open free market, there are entrepreneurs who will try to exploit the scarcity of commodities during a pandemic.”
While the proposed bill snakes its way through the legislative process, a hotline has been established called the Orange County District Attorney Coronavirus Scam Hotline, which can be reached anonymously by phone at (714) 834-3482 or email to reportascam@da.ocgov.com. In order to investigate, the district attorneys request the name of the individual or business being reporting, a description of the behavior, the address or city where the individual or business is located and a contact number for the anonymous person reporting the conduct.
“This bill will help close loopholes that allow greedy actors to escape accountability and ensure that California businesses don't charge abusive prices for health and consumer essentials during this national emergency,” said Stephan in a statement online.
California Penal Code Section 396 isn’t the only state law that needs updating, according to experts. The COVID-19 outbreak has brought to light loopholes in the looting statute.
Looting. According to criminal defense attorney David P. Shapiro, the current language is too specific to earthquakes and natural disasters.
“You want pandemic language to be included to eliminate any real defense to charges of looting,” Shapiro told the Southern California Record. “The way it stands now is that whenever the current state of emergency is lifted, there’s a loophole that it’s not looting because there was no state of emergency. Adding pandemic language would slam the door to the defense that a pandemic does not apply to the looting statute as it currently exists.”
Looting falls under Penal Code 463 PC and can be charged along with petty theft, grand theft or burglary. Punishment depends on what was stolen in most cases. Stealing baby formula will not be treated the same as stealing electronic goods, according to Shapiro.
“There doesn’t appear to be anything but presumptive language if convicted and there’s a presumption that you should get 180 days but the court can make a finding that you don’t serve any time,” said Shapiro in an interview.
Rules for jury service. A rule that needs updating now that COVID-19 has entered the picture are those that govern jury service.
Mandated by California Rules of Court 2.1002, current jury service rules do not address how to cope with a pandemic, current or future, or being exposed to someone who potentially has COVID-19.
“If the jurors are required to wear masks, will the court provide the masks,” said attorney Mike Arias, immediate past-president of the Consumer Attorneys of California. “Will the court set up partitions between jurors in the jury box?”
Currently, some 400 to 500 jurors gather together in jury assembly rooms to learn the basics of being a juror.
“The courts will likely revamp the class and perhaps host it remotely,” Arias told the Southern California Record.
Although juries are required by the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to ensure due process, jury service rules are administered by the state Judicial Council. “You will want potential jurors to be comfortable and confident,” said Arias. “I took for granted the whole jury service process all these years.”