Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Working Group to Study Pricing of Motor Fuels by Retail Dealers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the pricing of motor fuels in New Jersey.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. New Jersey residents and visitors to the State, along with consumers across the country, face fluctuating prices when purchasing motor fuel.
b. It is essential to the financial well-being of consumers to ensure that retail dealers in the business of dispensing motor fuels do not establish excessive prices for the purchase of motor fuels.
c. The development of a working group to monitor the pricing of motor fuel is intended to protect New Jersey residents and visitors to the State from abusive practices by retail dealers.
2. a. There is hereby established the Working Group to Study Pricing of Motor Fuels by Retail Dealers.
b. It shall be the duty of the working group to:
(1) examine the practices of retail dealers in the pricing of motor fuels dispensed in the State; and
(2) recommend policies and practices the State can implement in response to price gouging by retail dealers.
3. a. The working group shall consist of nine members to be appointed by the Attorney General. One shall be the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, which is in the Department of Law and Public Safety, who shall chair the working group; four members shall be individuals who investigate price gouging for the Office of Consumer Protections in the Division of Consumer Affairs; and four shall be individuals who investigate pricing of motor fuel for the Office of Weights and Measures.
b. The members of the working group shall be appointed within 30 days following the date of enactment of this bill.
c. Any vacancy in the membership of the working group shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
4. The findings of the working group shall be issued at the end of the third month following the appointments of the members of the working group to the Governor and to the State Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).
5. As used in this act, motor fuel and retail dealer shall have the same meaning used in P.L.1938, c.163 (C.56:6-1 et seq.).
6. This act shall take effect immediately and expire following the issuance of the report required pursuant to section 4 of this act, unless, upon the authorization of the Attorney General, an extension is granted for the working group to further examine the pricing of the motor fuels by retail dealers.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Working Group to Study Pricing of Motor Fuels by Retail Dealers. The intent of the working group is to examine the practices of retail detailers in the pricing of motor fuels and recommend policies and practices the State can implement in response to price gouging by retail dealers. It is to consist of nine members, appointed by the Attorney General, including the director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, who is to chair the working group. The findings of the working group are to be released to the Governor and Legislature after three months of review. The working group is to expire following the issuance of the report required under the bill, unless the Attorney General authorizes an extension for the working group to further examine the pricing of the motor fuels by retail dealers.