Oregon Gas Prices Continue to Tumble

An anti-price gouging bill has been introduced in Congress.

(SALEM) - Finally, some relief at pump.

At least for now.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Oregon dropped 4-cents over the past week to $2.64.

In Salem, the price dropped 4-cents as well to $2.65, in Eugene-Springfield the price plummeted 6-cents to $2.66, in Portland-Vancouver the price dropped 4-cents to $2.62, and in Medford-Ashland the price fell 7-cents to $2.66.

Oregon now has the nation's third highest gas prices, trailing only Hawaii at $2.91, and Washington at $2.65.

The nationwide average fell 7-cents to $2.23.

The cheapest gas prices can be found in Oklahoma and Missouri at $2.02.

AAA says this is normally the time of year when prices are the lowest.

Prices usually start going up prior to the Memorial Day weekend and at the start of the summer driving season.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has introduced an anti-price gouging bill in Congress.

The bill, the Gasoline Consumer Anti-Price-Gouging Protection Act, is expected to be the first of many measures aimed at introducing price controls on gasoline and diesel during emergencies, says the Petroleum Marketers Assn. of America.

The Stevens bill (S.92) would make it unlawful to raise prices by an "unconscionable amount" during market disruptions, identified as such either by a presidential proclamation or an emergency order from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Enforcement would be by the FTC, allowing a maximum fine on small businesses to $500,000 per violation.

Refiners would face fines of up to $5,000,000 per violation.

In addition to civil penalties, the legislation also allows for criminal penalties of up to $1,000,000 and/or up to 2 years in prison, which would be enforced by the Department of Justice, says PMAA.

Currently the Stevens' bill does include many of the safeguards pushed by PMAA, such as the ability to pass along increases in wholesale prices, and replacement costs for gasoline/distillate products sold.

PMAA says it believe that anti-price-gouging measures are, in effect, legislation in search of a problem.

"Following Hurricane Katrina, investigations by the FTC revealed that the overwhelming majority of retailers across the United States priced their products responsibly following the emergency," says PMAA in a statement today. "Besides only an extremely small number of isolated instances, there is no evidence that price-gouging poses even a minor threat to consumers."