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| To amend section 1345.02 and to enact sections | 1 |
| 3741.20 and 3741.21 of the Revised Code to make | 2 |
| charging a price for a grade of gasoline that does | 3 |
| not bear a reasonable relationship to the costs of | 4 |
| making the particular grade of gasoline available | 5 |
| to consumers an unfair or deceptive consumer sales | 6 |
| practice; to require refiners and wholesalers of | 7 |
| petroleum products to submit monthly reports to | 8 |
| the Director of Commerce regarding petroleum | 9 |
| products shipped into, used in, and exported from | 10 |
| this state; to require retail sellers of gasoline | 11 |
| to submit a written notice to the Director if the | 12 |
| retail seller increases the price of gasoline sold | 13 |
| at the pump by seven cents or more during a | 14 |
| calendar week; and to create the Gasoline | 15 |
| Practices Oversight Commission for the period | 16 |
| ending December 31, 2009. | 17 |
| Section 1. That section 1345.02 be amended and sections | 18 |
| 3741.20 and 3741.21 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as | 19 |
| follows: | 20 |
| Sec. 1345.02. (A) No supplier shall commit an unfair or | 21 |
| deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer | 22 |
| transaction. Such an unfair or deceptive act or practice by a | 23 |
| supplier violates this section whether it occurs before, during, | 24 |
| or after the transaction. | 25 |
| (B) Without limiting the scope of division (A) of this | 26 |
| section, the act or practice of a supplier in representing any of | 27 |
| the following is deceptive: | 28 |
| (1) That the subject of a consumer transaction has | 29 |
| sponsorship, approval, performance characteristics, accessories, | 30 |
| uses, or benefits that it does not have; | 31 |
| (2) That the subject of a consumer transaction is of a | 32 |
| particular standard, quality, grade, style, prescription, or | 33 |
| model, if it is not; | 34 |
| (3) That the subject of a consumer transaction is new, or | 35 |
| unused, if it is not; | 36 |
| (4) That the subject of a consumer transaction is available | 37 |
| to the consumer for a reason that does not exist; | 38 |
| (5) That the subject of a consumer transaction has been | 39 |
| supplied in accordance with a previous representation, if it has | 40 |
| not, except that the act of a supplier in furnishing similar | 41 |
| merchandise of equal or greater value as a good faith substitute | 42 |
| does not violate this section; | 43 |
| (6) That the subject of a consumer transaction will be | 44 |
| supplied in greater quantity than the supplier intends; | 45 |
| (7) That replacement or repair is needed, if it is not; | 46 |
| (8) That a specific price advantage exists, if it does not; | 47 |
| (9) That the supplier has a sponsorship, approval, or | 48 |
| affiliation that the supplier does not have; | 49 |
| (10) That a consumer transaction involves or does not involve | 50 |
| a warranty, a disclaimer of warranties or other rights, remedies, | 51 |
| or obligations if the representation is false. | 52 |
| (C) In construing division (A) of this section, the court | 53 |
| shall give due consideration and great weight to federal trade | 54 |
| commission orders, trade regulation rules and guides, and the | 55 |
| federal courts' interpretations of subsection 45 (a)(1) of the | 56 |
| "Federal Trade Commission Act," 38 Stat. 717 (1914), 15 U.S.C.A. | 57 |
| 41, as amended. | 58 |
| (D) No supplier shall offer to a consumer or represent that a | 59 |
| consumer will receive a rebate, discount, or other benefit as an | 60 |
| inducement for entering into a consumer transaction in return for | 61 |
| giving the supplier the names of prospective consumers, or | 62 |
| otherwise helping the supplier to enter into other consumer | 63 |
| transactions, if earning the benefit is contingent upon an event | 64 |
| occurring after the consumer enters into the transaction. | 65 |
| (E)(1) No supplier, in connection with a consumer transaction | 66 |
| involving natural gas service or public telecommunications service | 67 |
| to a consumer in this state, shall request or submit, or cause to | 68 |
| be requested or submitted, a change in the consumer's provider of | 69 |
| natural gas service or public telecommunications service, without | 70 |
| first obtaining, or causing to be obtained, the verified consent | 71 |
| of the consumer. For the purpose of this division and with respect | 72 |
| to public telecommunications service only, the procedures | 73 |
| necessary for verifying the consent of a consumer shall be those | 74 |
| prescribed by rule by the public utilities commission for public | 75 |
| telecommunications service under division (D) of section 4905.72 | 76 |
| of the Revised Code. Also, for the purpose of this division, the | 77 |
| act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent, or other | 78 |
| individual, acting for or employed by another person, while acting | 79 |
| within the scope of that authority or employment, is the act or | 80 |
| failure of that other person. | 81 |
| (2) Consistent with the exclusion, under 47 C.F.R. | 82 |
| 64.1100(a)(3), of commercial mobile radio service providers from | 83 |
| the verification requirements adopted in 47 C.F.R. 64.1100, | 84 |
| 64.1150, 64.1160, 64.1170, 64.1180, and 64.1190 by the federal | 85 |
| communications commission, division (E)(1) of this section does | 86 |
| not apply to a provider of commercial mobile radio service insofar | 87 |
| as such provider is engaged in the provision of commercial mobile | 88 |
| radio service. However, when that exclusion no longer is in | 89 |
| effect, division (E)(1) of this section shall apply to such a | 90 |
| provider. | 91 |
| (3) The attorney general may initiate criminal proceedings | 92 |
| for a prosecution under division (C) of section 1345.99 of the | 93 |
| Revised Code by presenting evidence of criminal violations to the | 94 |
| prosecuting attorney of any county in which the offense may be | 95 |
| prosecuted. If the prosecuting attorney does not prosecute the | 96 |
| violations, or at the request of the prosecuting attorney, the | 97 |
| attorney general may proceed in the prosecution with all the | 98 |
| rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law on prosecuting | 99 |
| attorneys, including the power to appear before grand juries and | 100 |
| to interrogate witnesses before grand juries. | 101 |
| (F) Concerning a consumer transaction in connection with a | 102 |
| residential mortgage, and without limiting the scope of division | 103 |
| (A) or (B) of this section, the act of a supplier in doing either | 104 |
| of the following is deceptive: | 105 |
| (1) Knowingly failing to provide disclosures required under | 106 |
| state and federal law; | 107 |
| (2) Knowingly providing a disclosure that includes a material | 108 |
| misrepresentation. | 109 |
| (G) The owner of a gasoline service station violates division | 110 |
| (A) of this section if the station charges consumers a price for a | 111 |
| grade of gasoline that does not bear a reasonable relationship to | 112 |
| the costs necessary to make the particular grade of gasoline | 113 |
| available to consumers. | 114 |
| Sec. 3741.20. (A) Each refiner of petroleum products and each | 115 |
| wholesaler of petroleum products doing business in this state | 116 |
| shall prepare and submit to the director of commerce on a monthly | 117 |
| basis a report that specifies all of the following amounts that | 118 |
| are attributable to the activities of the refiner or wholesaler: | 119 |
| (1) The amount of unrefined and refined petroleum products | 120 |
| that the refiner or wholesaler had brought into this state during | 121 |
| the previous calendar month; | 122 |
| (2) The amount of the petroleum products described in | 123 |
| division (A)(1) of this section that were consumed in this state | 124 |
| during the previous calendar month; | 125 |
| (3) The amount of the petroleum products described in | 126 |
| division (A)(1) of this section that were exported from this state | 127 |
| during the previous calendar month. | 128 |
| (B) Each refiner and wholesaler shall submit the report | 129 |
| required under division (A) of this section to the director not | 130 |
| later than the tenth day of the month immediately following the | 131 |
| month covered in the report. The director shall post a copy of | 132 |
| each refiner and wholesaler's report on the web site maintained by | 133 |
| the department of commerce. | 134 |
| Sec. 3741.21. As used in this section, "calendar week" means | 135 |
| the time period beginning at midnight on Sunday and ending at | 136 |
| midnight on the Sunday immediately following that initial Sunday. | 137 |
| If a retail seller of gasoline increases the price of | 138 |
| gasoline sold directly to consumers at a gasoline pump during a | 139 |
| calendar week, and the total amount of any increases occurring in | 140 |
| that week equals or will equal an increase of seven cents or more | 141 |
| in the price of gasoline sold as compared to the price of gasoline | 142 |
| sold on the previous Sunday of that calendar week, the retail | 143 |
| seller shall submit a written notice to the director of commerce | 144 |
| informing the director that the retail seller has or will increase | 145 |
| by seven cents or more the price of gasoline sold during that | 146 |
| calendar week. The retail seller shall include in the notice the | 147 |
| reason for that price increase. The retail seller shall submit the | 148 |
| notice at any time during the time period beginning twenty-four | 149 |
| hours prior to the time the price increase that results or will | 150 |
| result in an increase of seven cents or more in the price of | 151 |
| gasoline during that calendar week takes effect and ending | 152 |
| twenty-four hours after the time such a price increase takes | 153 |
| effect. | 154 |
| Section 2. That existing section 1345.02 of the Revised Code | 155 |
| is hereby repealed. | 156 |
| Section 3. (A) There is hereby created the Ohio Gasoline | 157 |
| Practices Oversight Commission consisting of ten members. The | 158 |
| President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of | 159 |
| Representatives each shall appoint three persons from their | 160 |
| respective houses to serve as members of the Commission. Not more | 161 |
| than two of the members from each house shall be of the same | 162 |
| political party. The Governor, the Attorney General, the Auditor | 163 |
| of State, and the Ohio Consumers' Counsel each shall appoint one | 164 |
| person to serve as a member of the Commission. A vacancy shall be | 165 |
| filled in the same manner as the original appointment. | 166 |
| The Commission shall elect from among its members a | 167 |
| chairperson and a vice-chairperson and shall appoint a secretary | 168 |
| who need not be a member of the Commission. Six members of the | 169 |
| Commission constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of six | 170 |
| members is necessary for any action that the Commission takes. A | 171 |
| vacancy in the membership of the Commission does not impair the | 172 |
| rights of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the | 173 |
| duties of the Commission. | 174 |
| (B) The Commission shall do all of the following: | 175 |
| (1) Examine and review the existing infrastructure that | 176 |
| delivers and distributes petroleum products to and within this | 177 |
| state; | 178 |
| (2) Examine the availability of petroleum products, current | 179 |
| gasoline pricing practices, alternative fuels for motor vehicles, | 180 |
| and government laws, rules, and regulations that affect the | 181 |
| supply, delivery, and distribution of petroleum products generally | 182 |
| and gasoline in particular to and within this state; | 183 |
| (3) Conduct hearings on the issues identified in divisions | 184 |
| (B)(1) and (2) of this section and thereafter formulate and | 185 |
| recommend a state gasoline policy to ensure both consumer | 186 |
| confidence in this state's gasoline supply and delivery | 187 |
| infrastructure and also to ensure a continuing and affordable | 188 |
| supply of motor vehicle fuel within this state to the benefit of | 189 |
| all Ohioans. | 190 |
| (C) In the discharge of its duties, the Commission has | 191 |
| authority throughout the state to administer oaths, issue | 192 |
| subpoenas compelling the attendance of witnesses and testimony, | 193 |
| and cause the deposition of witnesses residing in the state. In | 194 |
| case of disobedience on the part of any person to comply with a | 195 |
| subpoena that the Commission issues, or on the refusal of any | 196 |
| witness to testify to any matters regarding which the person may | 197 |
| be lawfully interrogated, it is the duty of the county prosecutor | 198 |
| in any county, on application of the Commission, to bring a | 199 |
| proceeding for contempt. | 200 |
| (D) The Commission shall issue an interim report to the | 201 |
| General Assembly not later than ninety days after the effective | 202 |
| date of this act and thereafter shall issue updated quarterly | 203 |
| reports. The Commission shall issue a final report during the | 204 |
| final quarter of 2009. On December 31, 2009, the Commission shall | 205 |
| cease to exist. | 206 |