Council Approves Price-Gouging Law

The issue looked straightforward at first: Should the Thousand Oaks City Council enact a law to prevent price gouging during a disaster? Three council members swiftly said yes. But Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski recoiled.

In the end, the council passed the ordinance on a 4-1 vote late Tuesday night, with Zeanah agreeing to ban price hikes of more than 10% on emergency goods and services. Before voting, however, council members engaged in a half-hour debate about what message the law would send.

Zukowski argued that an anti-gouging law would unjustly blacken the reputation of Thousand Oaks’ merchants.

Rather than go after unethical businessmen with a city ordinance, she said, residents could take complaints to the Chamber of Commerce or the Better Business Bureau.

Zeanah said some merchants might have legitimate reasons for raising prices. She cited the example of a merchant who began charging $3 per battery immediately after the Jan. 17th earthquake. “Maybe it was a conscious decision (to discourage bulk buying) so more people would be able to buy batteries,” Zeanah said.

But council members Frank Schillo, Judy Lazar and Alex Fiore argued the anti-gouging law was necessary to deter dramatic price hikes.

“It’s not very consoling to tell (the victim) you’re going to call the Chamber of Commerce,” Schillo said.