S-2391.3  _______________________________________________

                 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8413

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senator Prentice

Read first time 03/29/2001.  Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Financial Institutions.

Establishing a committee to study oil pricing.

    WHEREAS, The marketing of motor fuel has a direct impact on all the citizens of the state; and

    WHEREAS, Promoting fair competition in motor fuel marketing is in the public interest; and

    WHEREAS, The practice of selling petroleum below cost in order to attract patronage can be a form of deceptive advertising and an unfair method of competition in commerce; and

    WHEREAS, This practice potentially causes commercial dislocations, misleads the consumer, and diverts business from dealers who maintain a fair price policy; and

    WHEREAS, Subsidized pricing can be an inherently predatory practice;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the state of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, That a joint select committee on petroleum marketing be established to study the possibility that below-cost sales of petroleum may have an anticompetitive effect, examine petroleum marketing practices, evaluate whether and to what extent below-cost sales may constitute deceptive advertising or unfair competition, and examine existing laws and the shortcomings of those laws to effectively address below-cost selling; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee consist of four members on the senate committee on labor, commerce and financial institutions and four members on the house of representatives committee on commerce and labor and two members from each caucus; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee will report its findings to the legislature on or before December 1, 2001.

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