Camarillo Municipal Code Ch. 9.30 Prices of Necessary Items During Local Emergencies

This chapter shall apply to the regulation of prices of necessary goods and merchandise during a local emergency or disaster for which a proclamation of a local emergency has been issued by the city or the county of Ventura pursuant to Government Code Section 8630 et seq.

(Ord. 812 § 2 (part), 1994.)

During such time as a proclamation of local emergency is in full force and effect as having been issued by the city or by the county of Ventura, it is unlawful for any person or any legal entity to sell or offer to sell any of the goods and merchandise, hereafter described, for a price which exceeds ten percent of the price for such goods or merchandise charged by any such person for such goods and merchandise immediately prior to the issuance of the proclamation of local emergency, unless such person can establish that an increased price was directly attributable to additional costs imposed by the supplier or manufacturer of the goods or merchandise. "Goods and merchandise" as used in this chapter means and includes necessary goods and merchandise which are offered for sale at retail which shall include, but shall not be limited to: food, water, milk, confections or condiments manufactured or designed to be consumed by man or animal, flashlights, radios, batteries, candles, blankets, soap, diapers, prescription and nonprescription drugs, bandages, gauze and isopropyl alcohol.

(Ord. 812 § 2 (part), 1994.)

If there is a reasonable cause to believe that a person has violated the provisions of this chapter, the district attorney of the county of Ventura may, prior to the filing of a criminal complaint, conduct a hearing upon due notice and an opportunity to be heard, to determine whether a criminal complaint should be filed. In the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the district attorney may dispense with the requirement of conducting a hearing prior to the filing of a criminal complaint.

(Ord. 812 § 2 (part), 1994.)

A. Criminal Penalties. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

B. Civil Actions. Any aggrieved consumer may prosecute a civil action under applicable state law to enforce this section and in any action a civil penalty may be imposed as provided by law, and, where appropriate, restitution to aggrieved consumers may be ordered.

(Ord. 812 § 2 (part), 1994.)