Virginia Code 59.1-529.1: Emergency orders; penalties
A. Upon finding that during a time of disaster a supplier is selling, leasing, or licensing, or offering to sell, lease, or license, a necessary good or service within the area for which the state of emergency is declared at such an unconscionable price that such selling, leasing, or licensing, or offering to sell, lease, or license presents an imminent and substantial danger of endangering the public welfare by creating public panic, the Governor is authorized to issue for a period not to exceed 30 days, without hearing, an emergency order directing the supplier to reduce the price of the necessary good or service to the prevailing price in the local market. The confidentiality of all evidence, testimony, documents, or other results of investigations leading to issuance of the emergency order, including the names of the complainant and the person that is the subject of the investigation, shall be maintained.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 59.1-529.1
- Disaster: means any "disaster" "emergency" or "major disaster" as those terms are used and defined in § 44-146. See Virginia Code 59.1-526
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Supplier: means a seller, lessor, licensor, or professional who advertises, solicits, or engages in consumer transactions, or a manufacturer, distributor, or licensor who sells, leases, or licenses goods or services to be resold, leased, or sublicensed by other persons in consumer transactions. See Virginia Code 59.1-526
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
B. The supplier to whom such emergency order is issued shall be notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent to the last known address of the supplier, and by personal delivery by an agent of the Governor.
C. If the supplier who has been issued such an emergency order is not complying with the terms thereof, the Governor shall notify the Attorney General, who shall immediately investigate as provided for under this chapter.
2006, c. 451.