Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would expand upon Colorado’s “price-gouging” statute, prohibiting the overcharging of “necessities” such as groceries and diapers.

House Bill 1010, sponsored by Reps. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, Kyle Brown, D-Louisville, and Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, would prohibit price gouging of necessities at any time, not just during declared disasters as delineated in current law. 

The bill defines necessities as “goods or services that are necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of consumers or of the general public.”

“I think of it as items that you can get in a grocery store,” said Zokaie. “So certainly consumer food products, but also things like diapers and formula and toothbrushes; just those every day essential items.”

Price gouging rose to the national spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Zokaie says it’s still very much an issue nearly five years later. 

“There’s been nationwide reports that show that prices are not being raised in lockstep with market increases, so that gives suspicion that something’s off,” she said. “What we’re doing is looking at, specifically, the cost of groceries and saying it’s not okay to price gouge at any time and that because we have suspicions that it’s happening, we need to hold those bad actors accountable.”

This is the first bill of Zokaie’s legislative career. As a mother of young children, she said affordability is a deeply resonant issue for her, and while the bill is a big undertaking, she said it’s exactly the kind of change she came to the legislature to make. 

“I ran for office to be able to support Colorado families,” she said. “As one of the few elected officials with three little kids and a young family that I have to support, I think that this is incredibly important to bring right now.”

Zokaie, Brown and Weissman used Federal Trade Commission data and similar laws in states like Ohio and New York to establish parameters for “price gouging,” which the bill defines as a price increase of 10% or more above the 90-day average price.

Price increases are normal and to be expected in a healthy economy, Zokaie explained, but companies that take advantage of consumers by disproportionately inflating costs should face consequences. She said she and her cosponsors have been working with the business community to address any concerns they may have with the bill. 

“As costs do naturally go up for a seller, passing those costs along is not price gouging,” she explained. “It’s price gouging when you’re unfairly and unconscionably raising it above what you need to keep up with your costs.”

The bill will be enforced by the Attorney General’s consumer protection division. Zokaie said she thinks the bill will act as a deterrent to “bad actors” engaging in “price gouging.” 

“Just the fact that we have set the standard and said that this is not something that businesses can engage in and that they have to actually be able to show why their prices need to go up, I think that will act as a deterrent in itself, but we’ll also work with the Attorney General’s office to see what support they need to enforce it,” she said.