AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT OF GASOLINE MARKETS.

This bill requires various companies that sell regular unleaded gasoline in the state to file gasoline supply and price data with the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). There are separate reporting requirements for wholesalers, distributors, and major retailers. The bill exempts the reported information from the Freedom of Information Act.

DCP must notify companies that have failed to timely provide the information required by the bill. The attorney general may issue a civil investigative demand for this information. The bill provides for civil penalties for companies that does not supply the required information.

The bill allows DCP to purchase, within available appropriations, price data from data service companies to use in analyzing retail and wholesale gasoline price and supply information data. DCP must prescribe applicable reporting standards and practices to facilitate data uniformity, consistency, and comparability.

The bill requires DCP to analyze the information it receives and report to the Energy and Technology and General Law committees. The report may contain recommendations for administrative or legislative action and findings concerning Connecticut's gasoline market. DCP may refer the information to appropriate state or federal agencies for law enforcement purposes or initiate necessary legal action.

The bill requires major fuel suppliers and other wholesalers to file sales data with DCP. Under the bill, major fuel suppliers are individuals and entities that own regular unleaded gasoline as it enters Connecticut and intend to sell it here. The bill applies to those wholesalers who sell this gasoline at wholesale rack prices. This is the price at which major fuel suppliers sell branded or unbranded gasoline to any other person, such as suppliers, distributors, or retailers. It excludes any state or federal taxes, rebates, discounts, tax incentives, or transportation costs. The wholesale rack price includes, among other things, posted rack gasoline prices at bulk terminals.

These entities must file a certified statement with DCP showing the: (1) amount of gasoline the suppliers owned that entered the state; (2) the amount of fuel owned by the supplier or seller that was brought to a wholesale rack location; (3) the amount of gasoline from each wholesale rack location sold to another person, including a distributor or retailer; and (4) the price per unit of fuel that was charged to each person. This price may be the wholesale rack price and dealer tank wagon price. The bill does not define the latter term although it is used in state tax law. Generally, the dealer tank wagon price is the one charged by refiners or resellers to retailers at the gasoline stations. The data on amounts must be provided for the months of January and June 2009. The entities must report the price data for each day in the July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 period, filing weekly reports with DCP.

The bill requires each distributor to file with DCP, by October 1, 2009, a statement showing the amount of gasoline sold to gasoline retailers in each municipality during the months of January and June 2009, aggregated by monthly total number of gallons sold in each municipality to which the gasoline was delivered. Under the bill, a distributor is anyone who (1) imports or causes to be imported into the state motor fuel for sale or use in this state or (2) produces, refines, blends, manufactures, or compounds motor fuels in the state for sale or use here. This definition includes any affiliate of such persons that (1) purchases motor fuel for sale, consignment or distribution to another or (2) receives motor fuel on consignment for consignment, or distribution to his or her own motor fuel accounts or to accounts of his supplier. The definition does not include anyone who is an employee of, or merely transports motor fuel for, the supplier.

The reports must be made on forms prescribed, prepared and furnished by DCP. The reporting forms may not indicate the distributor's name. Each distributor must submit, on a separate form, a certified affidavit under penalty of law that it has filed the anonymous required filing and complied with the bill's information requirements.

By October 1, 2009, each major retailer must file with DCP a certified statement showing the retail price for gasoline it charged by the retailer for each day from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. A major retailer is any person who annually sells at retail more than one million gallons of regular unleaded gasoline to consumers in this state. The report must be made on forms DCP prescribes, prepares and furnishes.

Information reported under the bill must be considered trade secret and proprietary and confidential in nature and is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. DCP must maintain the information and may not disclose it to any person or entity, public or private. But the information may be disclose to a public or private person or entity if it is in aggregate form and does not disclose any data attributable to a particular company.

The bill subjects a person who (1) willfully fails to supply information within 21 business days after being notified of the failure to provide the required information or (2) fails to comply with a civil investigative demand to a civil penalty of between $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 per day for each day the information submission is refused or delayed. The bill allows the attorney general, acting in the name of the state, to petition for recovery of the penalties.

Under the bill, if any person or his or her employee willfully, and with the intent to defraud, makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any record, report, plan or other document filed with DCP, the attorney general may petition the court to recover a civil penalty up to $ 500,000 on the state's behalf. A violation is considered willful if the party who committed the violation knew or should have known that such conduct violated the bill.

Yea

Nay

(03/17/2009)