Michigan: Granholm aims to stop gas gouging - State lawmakers enter bill to ban the practice

www.record-eagle.com February 28, 2003 STAFF & WIRE REPORTS

      LANSING - Gov. Jennifer Granholm has issued an executive order telling state officials to conduct routine surveys of gasoline prices in Michigan and report any gas gouging to the attorney general.       In the executive order issued Thursday, Granholm directed the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Michigan Public Service Commission to work together monitoring gasoline prices. Granholm      "Less than two years ago, fears about national security resulted in what appeared to be price gouging by a small number of service stations," the governor said in a release.       "The anxiety felt by consumers in those difficult days has begun to reappear in recent weeks as gas prices have increased dramatically. Our state departments are doing their part to ensure that we are prepared to protect our citizens in times of uncertainty, and we need to pass this important legislation quickly to protect them in the future."       She was referring to bills that will be introduced by state Rep. Kathleen Law, D-Gibraltar, and Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor.       Their legislation would expressly ban the practice of price gouging during states of emergency declared by the governor. The law now contains no specific ban on gasoline price gouging.       The gouging ban will be no problem for Marathon Ashland Petroleum, said company spokesman Linda Casey. The company has a number of Speedway and Marathon stations in northwest Lower Michigan, including six Speedways in the Traverse City area.       "After 9/11 we locked down our prices to what were in effect at midnight of 9/10 and kept them there for over a month," Casey said. "We felt after 9/11 we had an obligation to do that. In Lexington, Ken., there is a state of emergency because of weather and our prices are on a lock down, so we have no problems with that."       While attorney general two years ago, Granholm took action against 48 service stations that had raised prices sharply in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks.       The stations were required to refund more than $100,000 in overcharges to consumers and to pay approximately $30,000 in civil penalties to the state, Granholm said. Two of the stations she was referring to were the Old Sportsman's General Store north of Petoskey and the 4 Corner Market and Duke's Old World Deli Too in the Petoskey area. Efforts to reach owners of the stations for comment were unsuccessful.       The governor said the American Automobile Association has said that recent increases in gasoline prices are not justified. While she acknowledged that prices have been volatile in part because of uncertainty over war in Iraq and a slowdown in oil imports from Venezuela, she said they still bear watching.       "Our goal today is twofold: To help consumers get information that will allow them to pay the lowest possible price for gasoline, and to assure consumers and retailers that we are watching the price of gas closely," she said.       In addition to forwarding potential unfair pricing practices to Attorney General Mike Cox for possible action, Granholm also has directed the Department of Agriculture to establish a system to give consumers information about gas prices.       Gov. Jennifer Granholm, www.michigan.gov Attorney General Mike Cox, www.michigan.gov

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