Last session, we worked closely with Senator Elect Pisciottano to move House Bill 2012 out of the House Judiciary Committee and through the House. We worked hard to bring relevant stakeholders together to gain support and make improvement to the bill. House Bill 2012 passed the House with bipartisan support and was supported by the Office of Attorney General, among others. We intend to reintroduce the bill in the House this session in synchronization with Senator Elect Pisciottano.
 
A fair marketplace is a healthy marketplace. Open competition is the engine of our nation's economy, and we need to ensure that state law protects against companies that seek to restrain Pennsylvania commerce.
 
For decades, large companies across the nation have purchased smaller ones, creating concentrated power in almost all sectors of our economy. Large, monopolistic firms then use their dominant market share to engage in price gouging, collusion, and other predatory, anti-competitive tactics that harm consumers, small businesses, and workers by raising prices, suppressing wages, and more. This monopolistic consolidation has also led to offshoring our nation's production capacity while creating brittle supply chains for even basic goods.
 
Unlike most other states, Pennsylvania does not have its own antitrust statute. As a result, we are introducing the Pennsylvania Open Markets Act that will protect consumers, local business owners, and workers by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and keeping markets open and fair. In addition, this bill empowers the Attorney General to investigate companies that attempt to monopolize any part of our economy and increases penalties for antitrust violations.
 
Please join us in supporting this legislation that drives a healthy, competitive, and innovative economy by providing new protections for consumers, small businesses, and workers throughout Pennsylvania.

Previous Cosponsors:   PISCIOTTANO, VENKAT, ISAACSON, MADDEN, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG, KHAN, DELLOSO, HOWARD, MERSKI, N. NELSON, BOYD, KRAJEWSKI, GREEN, CERRATO, MATZIE, MADSEN, T. DAVIS, FLEMING, WEBSTER and KENYATTA.