{"id":44362,"date":"2019-08-29T12:48:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T16:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=44362"},"modified":"2019-08-29T12:48:56","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T16:48:56","slug":"floridas-price-gouging-hotline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2019\/08\/floridas-price-gouging-hotline\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s Price Gouging Hotline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fWllgSkSAt8\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>Attorney General Ashley Moody today activated Florida\u2019s\nPrice Gouging Hotline for consumers in multiple Florida counties. The opening\nof the hotline comes as Governor Ron DeSantis declares a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flgov.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/EO-19-189.pdf\">state of\nemergency<\/a>&nbsp;for counties in the path of Hurricane Dorian. Florida\u2019s\nPrice Gouging Law only applies within the area of the declared state of\nemergency.<br>\n<br>\nAttorney General Ashley Moody said, \u201cFloridians in the projected path of this\nstorm should take steps now to ensure they are prepared for a strike and the\npossibility of days without electricity. This means purchasing essential\ncommodities such as food, water and fuel. I have activated Florida\u2019s Price\nGouging Hotline in an effort to prevent gouging, so Floridians can afford essential\nitems now. Please report gouging to my office by calling (866) 9NO-SCAM or\ndownload our new reporting app\u2014NO SCAM.\u201d<br>\n<br>\nFor more information about the NO SCAM app, click&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.myfloridalegal.com\/newsrel.nsf\/newsreleases\/15077C5CE22E2F648525840E00542CA6?Open&amp;\">here<\/a>.<br>\n<br>\nTo download the Attorney General\u2019s Hurricane Preparedness Guide, click&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/myfloridalegal.com\/webfiles.nsf\/WF\/TDGT-BCSLZW\/$file\/2019+Hurricane+Preparedness+Guide+FINAL.pdf\">here<\/a>.<br>\n<br>\nState law prohibits excessive increases in the price of essential commodities,\nsuch as food, water, hotel rooms, ice, gasoline, lumber and equipment, needed\nas a direct result of an officially declared emergency. Anyone who suspects\nprice gouging during this declared state of emergency should report it to the\nAttorney General\u2019s Office by using the NO SCAM app, or calling (866) 9NO-SCAM.\nThe Attorney General\u2019s NO SCAM app can be downloaded for free through Apple and\nAndroid stores by searching NO SCAM.<br>\n<br>\nFor tips on reporting price gouging, click&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/myfloridalegal.com\/webfiles.nsf\/WF\/TDGT-BCNQAE\/$file\/Tips+for+Avoiding+Price+Gouging+and+Gathering+Gouging+Evidence.pdf\">here<\/a>.<br>\n<br>\nViolators of the price gouging statute are subject to civil penalties of $1,000\nper violation and up to a total of $25,000 for multiple violations committed in\na single 24-hour period. In addition to the civil penalties for price gouging,\nstate law criminalizes the sale of goods and services to the public without\npossession of a business tax receipt. Violators of the law can be charged with\na second-degree misdemeanor.<br>\n<br>\nSpecifically,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/Statutes\/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&amp;SubMenu=1&amp;App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;Search_String=501.160&amp;URL=0500-0599\/0501\/Sections\/0501.160.html\">Florida\nStatute, Section 501.160<\/a>, states in part that during a state of emergency,\nit is unlawful to sell, rent, offer to sell, or offer for rent essential\ncommodities, dwelling units, or self-storage facilities for an amount that\ngrossly exceeds the average price for that commodity during the 30 days before\nthe declaration of the state of emergency.<br>\n<br>\nFor more information on price gouging, please click&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/myfloridalegal.com\/pages.nsf\/Main\/5D2710E379EAD6BC85256F03006AA2C5?OpenDocument\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorney General Ashley Moody today activated Florida\u2019s Price Gouging Hotline for consumers in multiple Florida counties. The opening of the hotline comes as Governor Ron DeSantis declares a&nbsp;state of emergency&nbsp;for&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":44363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}