To amend section 1345.02 and to enact sections 3741.20 and 3741.21 of the Revised Code to make charging a price for a grade of gasoline that does not bear a reasonable relationship to the costs of making the particular grade of gasoline available to consumers an unfair or deceptive consumer sales practice; to require refiners and wholesalers of petroleum products to submit monthly reports to the Director of Commerce regarding petroleum products shipped into, used in, and exported from this state; to require retail sellers of gasoline to submit a written notice to the Director if the retail seller increases the price of gasoline sold at the pump by seven cents or more during a calendar week; and to create the Gasoline Practices Oversight Commission for the period ending December 31, 2009.

Section 1. That section 1345.02 be amended and sections 3741.20 and 3741.21 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 1345.02.  (A) No supplier shall commit an unfair or deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction. Such an unfair or deceptive act or practice by a supplier violates this section whether it occurs before, during, or after the transaction.

(B) Without limiting the scope of division (A) of this section, the act or practice of a supplier in representing any of the following is deceptive:

(1) That the subject of a consumer transaction has sponsorship, approval, performance characteristics, accessories, uses, or benefits that it does not have;

(2) That the subject of a consumer transaction is of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, prescription, or model, if it is not;

(3) That the subject of a consumer transaction is new, or unused, if it is not;

(4) That the subject of a consumer transaction is available to the consumer for a reason that does not exist;

(5) That the subject of a consumer transaction has been supplied in accordance with a previous representation, if it has not, except that the act of a supplier in furnishing similar merchandise of equal or greater value as a good faith substitute does not violate this section;

(6) That the subject of a consumer transaction will be supplied in greater quantity than the supplier intends;

(7) That replacement or repair is needed, if it is not;

(8) That a specific price advantage exists, if it does not;

(9) That the supplier has a sponsorship, approval, or affiliation that the supplier does not have;

(10) That a consumer transaction involves or does not involve a warranty, a disclaimer of warranties or other rights, remedies, or obligations if the representation is false.

(C) In construing division (A) of this section, the court shall give due consideration and great weight to federal trade commission orders, trade regulation rules and guides, and the federal courts' interpretations of subsection 45 (a)(1) of the "Federal Trade Commission Act," 38 Stat. 717 (1914), 15 U.S.C.A. 41, as amended.

(D) No supplier shall offer to a consumer or represent that a consumer will receive a rebate, discount, or other benefit as an inducement for entering into a consumer transaction in return for giving the supplier the names of prospective consumers, or otherwise helping the supplier to enter into other consumer transactions, if earning the benefit is contingent upon an event occurring after the consumer enters into the transaction.

(E)(1) No supplier, in connection with a consumer transaction involving natural gas service or public telecommunications service to a consumer in this state, shall request or submit, or cause to be requested or submitted, a change in the consumer's provider of natural gas service or public telecommunications service, without first obtaining, or causing to be obtained, the verified consent of the consumer. For the purpose of this division and with respect to public telecommunications service only, the procedures necessary for verifying the consent of a consumer shall be those prescribed by rule by the public utilities commission for public telecommunications service under division (D) of section 4905.72 of the Revised Code. Also, for the purpose of this division, the act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent, or other individual, acting for or employed by another person, while acting within the scope of that authority or employment, is the act or failure of that other person.

(2) Consistent with the exclusion, under 47 C.F.R. 64.1100(a)(3), of commercial mobile radio service providers from the verification requirements adopted in 47 C.F.R. 64.1100, 64.1150, 64.1160, 64.1170, 64.1180, and 64.1190 by the federal communications commission, division (E)(1) of this section does not apply to a provider of commercial mobile radio service insofar as such provider is engaged in the provision of commercial mobile radio service. However, when that exclusion no longer is in effect, division (E)(1) of this section shall apply to such a provider.

(3) The attorney general may initiate criminal proceedings for a prosecution under division (C) of section 1345.99 of the Revised Code by presenting evidence of criminal violations to the prosecuting attorney of any county in which the offense may be prosecuted. If the prosecuting attorney does not prosecute the violations, or at the request of the prosecuting attorney, the attorney general may proceed in the prosecution with all the rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law on prosecuting attorneys, including the power to appear before grand juries and to interrogate witnesses before grand juries.

(F) Concerning a consumer transaction in connection with a residential mortgage, and without limiting the scope of division (A) or (B) of this section, the act of a supplier in doing either of the following is deceptive:

(1) Knowingly failing to provide disclosures required under state and federal law;

(2) Knowingly providing a disclosure that includes a material misrepresentation.

(G) The owner of a gasoline service station violates division (A) of this section if the station charges consumers a price for a grade of gasoline that does not bear a reasonable relationship to the costs necessary to make the particular grade of gasoline available to consumers.

Sec. 3741.20. (A) Each refiner of petroleum products and each wholesaler of petroleum products doing business in this state shall prepare and submit to the director of commerce on a monthly basis a report that specifies all of the following amounts that are attributable to the activities of the refiner or wholesaler:

(1) The amount of unrefined and refined petroleum products that the refiner or wholesaler had brought into this state during the previous calendar month;

(2) The amount of the petroleum products described in division (A)(1) of this section that were consumed in this state during the previous calendar month;

(3) The amount of the petroleum products described in division (A)(1) of this section that were exported from this state during the previous calendar month.

(B) Each refiner and wholesaler shall submit the report required under division (A) of this section to the director not later than the tenth day of the month immediately following the month covered in the report. The director shall post a copy of each refiner and wholesaler's report on the web site maintained by the department of commerce.

Sec. 3741.21.  As used in this section, "calendar week" means the time period beginning at midnight on Sunday and ending at midnight on the Sunday immediately following that initial Sunday.

If a retail seller of gasoline increases the price of gasoline sold directly to consumers at a gasoline pump during a calendar week, and the total amount of any increases occurring in that week equals or will equal an increase of seven cents or more in the price of gasoline sold as compared to the price of gasoline sold on the previous Sunday of that calendar week, the retail seller shall submit a written notice to the director of commerce informing the director that the retail seller has or will increase by seven cents or more the price of gasoline sold during that calendar week. The retail seller shall include in the notice the reason for that price increase. The retail seller shall submit the notice at any time during the time period beginning twenty-four hours prior to the time the price increase that results or will result in an increase of seven cents or more in the price of gasoline during that calendar week takes effect and ending twenty-four hours after the time such a price increase takes effect.

Section 2. That existing section 1345.02 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. (A) There is hereby created the Ohio Gasoline Practices Oversight Commission consisting of ten members. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives each shall appoint three persons from their respective houses to serve as members of the Commission. Not more than two of the members from each house shall be of the same political party. The Governor, the Attorney General, the Auditor of State, and the Ohio Consumers' Counsel each shall appoint one person to serve as a member of the Commission. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

The Commission shall elect from among its members a chairperson and a vice-chairperson and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the Commission. Six members of the Commission constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of six members is necessary for any action that the Commission takes. A vacancy in the membership of the Commission does not impair the rights of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the Commission.

(B) The Commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Examine and review the existing infrastructure that delivers and distributes petroleum products to and within this state;

(2) Examine the availability of petroleum products, current gasoline pricing practices, alternative fuels for motor vehicles, and government laws, rules, and regulations that affect the supply, delivery, and distribution of petroleum products generally and gasoline in particular to and within this state;

(3) Conduct hearings on the issues identified in divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section and thereafter formulate and recommend a state gasoline policy to ensure both consumer confidence in this state's gasoline supply and delivery infrastructure and also to ensure a continuing and affordable supply of motor vehicle fuel within this state to the benefit of all Ohioans.

(C) In the discharge of its duties, the Commission has authority throughout the state to administer oaths, issue subpoenas compelling the attendance of witnesses and testimony, and cause the deposition of witnesses residing in the state. In case of disobedience on the part of any person to comply with a subpoena that the Commission issues, or on the refusal of any witness to testify to any matters regarding which the person may be lawfully interrogated, it is the duty of the county prosecutor in any county, on application of the Commission, to bring a proceeding for contempt.

(D) The Commission shall issue an interim report to the General Assembly not later than ninety days after the effective date of this act and thereafter shall issue updated quarterly reports. The Commission shall issue a final report during the final quarter of 2009. On December 31, 2009, the Commission shall cease to exist.