Price gouging: state of emergency.

The short title was corrected from 'amend Sections 396 and 1524 Section 396 of the Penal Code' to 'amend Section 396 of the Penal Code,' removing a drafting error that redundantly referenced Section 1524.

The digest header changed from 'SB 36, as amended, Umberg' to 'SB 36, Umberg,' reflecting that this is the final enrolled version rather than an amended draft.

Standard enrolled bill language was added, including 'Passed the Senate September 11, 2025,' 'Passed the Assembly September 9, 2025,' and a blank line for the Governor's receipt date and time.

Assembly amendment line numbers (e.g., 'line 1,' 'line 2') were removed throughout the statutory text, as well as the vote/appropriation/fiscal committee summary block at the end of the digest.

The comparison is between the formal enrolled document (with page numbers, signature blocks, and legislative formatting) and a web-based display of the same bill text (with site navigation, bill history sidebar, and different text wrapping). The underlying legislative content - all sections added or amended to the Business and Professions Code, Civil Code, and Penal Code - is identical in both versions.

The geographic area covered by emergency price-gouging protections was narrowed from 'all adjacent counties and counties within a 50-mile radius' to only 'counties within a 25-mile radius' of the counties in the emergency proclamation or declaration. This removes adjacent counties as a separate category and halves the radius.

The search warrant authority for price gouging evidence now includes a sunset date of January 1, 2031, meaning it will expire unless renewed by the Legislature.

Search warrants for price gouging evidence can now only be issued upon application by the Department of Justice, rather than being available to any law enforcement agency.

The Department of Justice is required to submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2030 regarding search warrants issued under this provision, providing an accountability checkpoint before the authority expires.

The bill now covers price gouging during states of emergency and local emergencies, expanding far beyond its original scope of civil procedure proof of service.

Section 396 of the Penal Code is expanded to cover rental housing prices (capped at 10 percent increase), prohibits evicting tenants and re-renting at higher prices during emergencies, adds transportation/freight/storage services to covered goods, and extends geographic scope to adjacent counties and counties within a 50-mile radius of the emergency area.

New Section 17206.3 adds a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation for unfair competition perpetrated against persons displaced due to a state of emergency or local emergency.

New Title 1.4E (Section 1749.9) requires housing listing platforms to alert law enforcement about suspected price gouging listings, maintain anti-gouging policies, provide consumer reporting mechanisms, enable confidential communication with law enforcement, and maintain internal staff and systems to monitor listings.

Defines 'housing listing platform' as an internet website, application, or similar centralized platform acting as intermediary between a consumer and another person for housing, lodging, or unit listings.

Section 3345 is amended to extend enhanced penalties (up to 3 times greater) to persons displaced due to a state of emergency or local emergency, alongside existing protections for seniors, disabled persons, and veterans.

Section 1524 of the Penal Code is amended to authorize search warrants when property to be seized consists of evidence tending to show price gouging violations have occurred or are occurring.

Specifies that an extension of price gouging prohibitions authorized by the Governor may be terminated by a concurrent resolution of the Legislature declaring it at an end.

Section 1770 (Consumers Legal Remedies Act) is amended to make price gouging during emergencies an unlawful unfair or deceptive act, adding it as paragraph (30) to the list of prohibited practices.

Housing listing platforms no longer have a proactive duty to alert law enforcement about suspected price gouging. Instead, they must remove a listing only when notified by local, regional, or state law enforcement agencies that the listing violates Section 396 of the Penal Code.

A new requirement obligates housing listing platforms to establish and maintain a policy informing persons searching for rental housing that listings are prohibited from violating price gouging laws and how to report suspected violations to law enforcement agencies.

The internal monitoring duty was changed from maintaining policies, systems, and staff to 'affirmatively prevent price gouging' to maintaining policies, systems, and staff to comply with the section's requirements and respond to law enforcement requests related to price gouging.

All housing listing platform obligations are now limited to a 30-day period following the proclamation of a state of emergency or declaration of a local emergency, rather than being ongoing.

The law enforcement communication mechanism was expanded to require platforms to ensure timely replies to an email address on the platform by which law enforcement can submit warrants, subpoenas, and other legal processes, with related timelines for response.

The bill no longer amends Section 417.10 of the Code of Civil Procedure (proof of service in civil actions). The entire section addressing nonsubstantive changes to summons and proof of service was removed.

Section 1749.9 now includes explicit definitions for 'state of emergency' and 'local emergency,' both referencing Section 396 of the Penal Code, in addition to the existing definition of 'housing listing platform.'

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries fiscal implications requiring fiscal committee review.

The geographic area where price gouging protections apply during a state or local emergency was reduced from a 50-mile radius to a 25-mile radius of the counties covered by the proclamation or declaration. This means fewer surrounding counties will be subject to the enhanced civil penalties and housing listing platform requirements.

Corrected a duplicated word in the bill summary: 'price gouging gouge' was changed to 'price gouge.'

Corrected a grammatical error in Section 1770(a)(30): 'Engage in a violation of Violating Section 396' was changed to 'Violating Section 396.'

Added the phrase 'at the time the violation occurred' in multiple places, requiring that a state of emergency or local emergency must be in effect at the moment the price gouging or unfair competition violation takes place. This narrows liability to violations occurring during an active emergency rather than potentially extending it beyond the emergency period.

Housing listing platforms must now 'remove' a listing when notified by law enforcement that it violates price gouging provisions, rather than merely 'alert' about it. This is a stronger obligation requiring actual takedown of non-compliant listings.

Removed the knowledge standard ('if it knows or has reason to believe') from the platform removal obligation. Platforms must now remove listings based solely on law enforcement notification that a violation exists, without needing to independently assess whether they had knowledge or reason to believe of the violation.

Reduced the affirmative monitoring obligation for housing listing platforms. The previous version required platforms to 'maintain internal written policies, systems, and staff to monitor listings in order to affirmatively prevent' violations. The new version only requires them to 'maintain internal written policies and systems to comply with the requirements of this section and to respond to law enforcement requests related to price gouging.' This removes the staffing requirement and shifts from proactive prevention to reactive compliance.

Simplified the law enforcement communication mechanism for housing listing platforms. Removed the phrase 'in a timely and confidential manner' and removed 'point of contact and ensure timely replies,' replacing with a simpler reference to 'a link to a dedicated web page, online portal, or email address' through which law enforcement can submit requests.