Pisciottano: Working Pennsylvanians are being ripped off
Reintroduces Stop Price Fixing Act to protect consumers from price gouging
Rep. Nick Pisciottano April 20, 2023 | 10:29 AM
HARRISBURG, April 20 – Reaffirming his commitment to protecting the financial well-being of working people and their families, state Rep. Nick Pisciottano today reintroduced the Stop Price Fixing Act for consideration in the 2023-24 legislative session.
“While the latest inflation report shows the pace of inflation is slowing, it doesn’t change the fact that some corporations are still getting away with using inflation as a false excuse to raise prices and boost their profit margins at the expense of working people,” he said.
Pisciottano said that price fixing cases are currently far too difficult to prosecute and the Stop Price Fixing Act would enhance the ability of the state attorney general to prosecute individuals and businesses that collude to artificially raise the prices of goods and services.
The bill also includes necessary protections for whistleblowers who come forward with internal knowledge of price-fixing violations.
“Evidence suggests that working Pennsylvanians are being ripped off by corporations, and workers are relying on lawmakers to protect them,” Pisciottano said. “If we fail to act now and strengthen our laws to hold price gouging companies accountable, we’re really just kicking the can further down the road and dooming consumers to the same fate in the future.”
Pisciottano first introduced this legislation last year in response to unprecedented price hikes on goods such as gasoline and groceries. He garnered some bipartisan support last session, but leaders of the former-Republican majority failed to hold a committee vote on the bill.
Following the reintroduction of H.B. 828, Pisciottano expects the bill to be referred to the House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee, on which he serves.