Back in March of 2017, a windstorm in Michigan knocked nearly a million people out of power in what was described as the largest weather event our utilities experienced.

As people throughout the state were displaced and seeking temporary lodging, I got a call to my office about a motel in my district that turned off its neon sign advertising its $59-a-night rooms, instead charging people up to $400. This was a shameful exploitation of desperate people in need.

I reached out to our former Attorney General’s office at the time to go after this shady motel operator. But shockingly I was told there wasn’t much he was able to do: Michigan’s price gouging law was too ineffective to go after bad actors during an emergency.

This event sparked my years-long effort to strengthen the law. Michiganders shouldn’t be left behind when an emergency strikes.

More than 30 other states have clear and precise restrictions on price increases of essential supplies that trigger once an emergency is declared. Attorneys general in states along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts proudly advertise their price gouging tip line when a hurricane approaches so people can report when unscrupulous businesses unlawfully jack up costs.

While Michigan doesn’t experience hurricanes, we have our fair share of extreme weather emergencies, from winter storms to summer flooding to that historic windstorm years ago. And sadly, we also have people looking to make a quick buck off the hardships of others. But we don’t have those same consumer protections as states across the country.

With inclement weather events becoming more common and a record-high cost of living stretching our budgets razor-thin, protecting Michigan families is now more important than ever.

That’s why I’m working with partners, including Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, to go after price gouging of emergency supplies, food, lodging, and energy products during a declared emergency.

Sens. Mary Cavanagh, D-Redford Twp., Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and I are reintroducing this legislation as a part of Michigan Senate Democrats’ A Michigan You Can Afford agenda, which seeks to protect consumers against predatory business tactics. It would empower the Michigan attorney general to hold violators legally accountable for trying to profit off vulnerable Michiganders during their time of most need.

Our efforts proved critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used the language of our bills in 2020 to write a temporary executive order that went after the unjustified increasing prices of masks, toilet paper and other goods that we all remember too well.

And Michigan consumers still needed these protections in law even more recently, as emergencies have been declared in just the last few months surrounding tornadoes, gas prices and a water main break in Auburn Hills that left parts of my district without water in May.

Navigating through emergencies is already stressful enough without greedy corporate actors taking advantage of our misery. We must set these safeguards in place to ensure that everyone can weather the storms ahead.

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