Governor Brown Prohibits “Price Gouging” Following North Bay Fires

Following Governor Brown’s declaration of a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and Yuba Counties after the October 2017 “Tubbs” and “Atlas” Fires, the Governor has signed an executive order extending protections against “price-gouging”.

The invocation of California Penal Code §396 now makes it unlawful “to sell or offer to sell any consumer food items or goods, goods or services used for emergency cleanup, emergency supplies, medical supplies, home heating oil, building materials, housing, transportation, freight, and storage services, or gasoline or other motor fuels for a price of more than 10 percent above the price charged by that person for those goods or services immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency”.

This prohibition includes rent increases in the affected areas, and a recent executive order extends this limitation through April 18, 2018.

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