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VMP H00809'25 *_HB6104_INTR_1 8cpk7w
HOUSE BILL NO. 6104
A bill to prohibit excessive pricing for certain energy
products and services during a period of market disruption; to
provide remedies and penalties; and to provide for the powers and
duties of certain state and local governmental officers and
entities.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "energy pricing 1
protection act". 2
Sec. 2. As used in this act: 3
June 17, 2026, Introduced by Reps. Mentzer, Hoskins, Pohutsky, Martus, Price and Scott and
referred to Committee on Regulatory Reform.
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(a) "Energy product or service" means gasoline, propane, or 1
home heating oil, or a service necessary to the provision of those 2
products, that is vital and necessary for the health, safety, and 3
welfare of the residents of this state. Energy product or service 4
does not include a product or service regulated by the Michigan 5
public service commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory 6
Commission, a cooperative electric utility that is member-regulated 7
under the electric cooperative member-regulation act, 2008 PA 167, 8
MCL 460.31 to 460.39, a joint-action agency utility system owned by 9
2 or more municipalities to furnish heat, power, and light, or a 10
governing body of a municipally owned utility. 11
(b) "Excessively increased price" means a price that 12
demonstrates an unjustified disparity between the price of an 13
energy product or service sold or offered for sale in the market 14
where that product or service is sold immediately before a market 15
disruption and the price of the product or service sold or offered 16
for sale in that market during or reasonably after a market 17
disruption. As used in this subdivision, an unjustified disparity 18
is a disparity of more than 20% unless the person selling or 19
offering the energy product or service can demonstrate that the 20
increase in price is attributable to an increase in the cost of 21
bringing the product or service to market or an extraordinary 22
discount in effect before the market disruption. 23
(c) "Market disruption" means a change in the market, whether 24
actual or imminently threatened, resulting from weather or other 25
force of nature, failure, shortage, or disruption of energy 26
production or distribution, strike, civil disorder, military 27
action, act of war, threat of war, national or local emergency, or 28
other abnormal market condition. 29
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(d) "Reasonably after a market disruption" means 30 days after 1
the end of the market disruption. 2
Sec. 3. A person conducting business in any chain of 3
distribution for energy products or services shall not do any of 4
the following during or reasonably after a market disruption: 5
(a) Charge a price for energy products or services that is 6
grossly in excess of the price at which similar energy products or 7
services are sold. 8
(b) Charge an excessively increased price for energy products 9
or services. 10
(c) Offer for sale an energy product or service at an 11
excessively increased price. 12
Sec. 4. (1) If the attorney general or a local prosecuting 13
attorney has reasonable cause to believe that an individual has 14
information or is in possession, custody, or control of a document 15
or other tangible object relevant to an investigation for a 16
violation of this act, the attorney general or prosecuting attorney 17
may serve on the individual a written demand to appear and be 18
examined under oath, and to produce the documents or object for 19
inspection and copying. The demand must meet all of the following: 20
(a) Be served on the individual in the manner prescribed for 21
service of process under the laws of this state. 22
(b) Describe the nature of the conduct constituting the 23
violation under investigation. 24
(c) Describe the document or object with sufficient 25
definiteness to permit it to be fairly identified. 26
(d) If requested, contain a copy of the written 27
interrogatories. 28
(e) Prescribe a reasonable time at which the individual shall 29
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appear to testify and within which the individual shall answer the 1
written interrogatories and the document or object must be 2
produced. 3
(f) Advise the individual that objections to or reasons for 4
not complying with the demand may be filed with the attorney 5
general or prosecuting attorney on or before the time described in 6
subdivision (e). 7
(g) Specify a place for the taking of testimony, or for 8
production, and designate the individual who is to be the custodian 9
of the document or object. 10
(h) Contain a copy of the language provided in subsection (2) 11
with appropriate citation. 12
(2) If an individual fails to comply with the written demand 13
served under subsection (1), the attorney general or a local 14
prosecuting attorney may file an action to enforce the demand. 15
Notice of hearing and a copy of the pleadings and other relevant 16
papers must be served on the individual, who may appear in 17
opposition. If the court finds that the demand is proper, the court 18
shall order the individual to comply with the demand, subject to 19
modification as the court may prescribe. On motion by the 20
individual and for good cause shown, the court may make any further 21
order in the proceedings that justice requires to protect the 22
individual from unreasonable burden or expense. 23
(3) An action filed under subsection (2) must be filed in the 24
circuit court for the county in which the individual resides or in 25
which the individual maintains a principal place of business in 26
this state, or in the circuit court for the county of Ingham. 27
(4) The fact that an investigative demand has been issued is 28
not confidential, but the testimony taken and material produced 29
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during the investigation must be kept confidential unless an 1
enforcement action is brought against a person for violation of 2
this act. Once the action is filed, the investigative material may 3
be disclosed in the course of discovery, in accordance with a 4
protective order if the court considers appropriate, and in support 5
of or opposition to the claims and defenses raised in the action, 6
but in all other respects remains confidential. 7
Sec. 5. (1) The attorney general may bring a class action on 8
behalf of persons residing in or injured in this state for the 9
actual damages caused by conduct prohibited under section 3 to 10
recover actual damages or $100.00, whichever is greater. 11
(2) On motion of the attorney general and without bond in an 12
action brought under this section, the court may make an 13
appropriate order to do any of the following: 14
(a) Reimburse persons that have suffered damages. 15
(b) Carry out a transaction in accordance with the aggrieved 16
persons' reasonable expectations. 17
(c) Strike or limit the application of unconscionable clauses 18
of contracts to avoid an unconscionable result. 19
(d) Grant other appropriate relief. 20
(3) The court after a hearing may appoint a receiver or order 21
sequestration of the defendant's assets if it appears to the 22
satisfaction of the court that the defendant threatens or is about 23
to remove, conceal, or dispose of the defendant's assets to the 24
detriment of members of the class. 25
(4) If at any stage of the proceedings under this section the 26
court requires that notice be sent to the class, the attorney 27
general may petition the court to require the defendant to bear the 28
cost of the notice. In determining whether to impose the cost on 29
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the defendant, the court shall consider the probability that the 1
attorney general will succeed on the merits of the action. 2
(5) If the defendant shows by a preponderance of the evidence 3
that a violation of this act resulted from a bona fide error 4
notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to 5
avoid the error, the amount of recovery must be limited to actual 6
damages. 7
(6) The attorney general shall not bring an action under this 8
section more than 4 years after the occurrence of the method, act, 9
or practice that is the subject of the action and not more than 1 10
year after the last payment in a transaction involving the method, 11
act, or practice that is the subject of the action, whichever 12
period of time ends on a later date. 13
Sec. 6. (1) The attorney general may bring an action for 14
appropriate injunctive or other equitable relief and civil 15
penalties in the name of the people of this state for a violation 16
of this act. The court may impose a civil fine for each violation 17
of this act. For an individual, the civil fine must not be more 18
than $10,000.00 per violation. For a person other than an 19
individual, the civil fine must not be more than $500,000.00 per 20
violation. 21
(2) This state, a political subdivision, or a public agency 22
injured directly or indirectly by a violation of this act may bring 23
an action for appropriate injunctive or other equitable relief, 24
actual damages sustained by reason of a violation of this act and, 25
as determined by the court, interest on those damages from the date 26
of the complaint, and taxable costs. If the trier of fact finds 27
that the violation is flagrant, it may increase recovery to an 28
amount not to exceed 3 times the actual damages sustained by reason 29
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of the violation. 1
Sec. 7. An individual who violates section 3 with the intent 2
to accomplish a result prohibited by this act is guilty of a 3
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or 4
a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both. A person other than an 5
individual that violates section 3 with the intent to accomplish a 6
result prohibited by this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable 7
by a fine of not more than $500,000.00. 8
Sec. 8. The remedies provided in this act are cumulative. 9
Sec. 9. If a witness has been or may be called to testify or 10
provide other information at a proceeding under or related to this 11
act, the circuit court for the county in which the proceeding is or 12
may be held may issue, on application of the attorney general, 13
asserting that in the attorney general's judgment the testimony or 14
other information may be necessary to the public interest and that 15
the witness has refused or is likely to refuse to testify, an order 16
requiring the witness to give testimony or provide other 17
information that the witness refuses to give or provide on the 18
basis of the privilege against self-incrimination, if the court 19
provides in its order that the witness must not be prosecuted or 20
subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for, or on account of, any 21
transaction, occurrence, matter, or thing to which the witness 22
testifies or provides other information or evidence, documentary or 23
otherwise, and that the testimony, information, or evidence must 24
not be used against the witness in any criminal investigation, 25
proceeding, or trial, except a prosecution for perjury for giving a 26
false statement or for otherwise failing to comply with the order. 27
Sec. 10. This act does not exempt, limit, or impair the 28
attorney general's ability to investigate, determine, or impose 29
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Final Page
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liability under the Michigan consumer protection act, 1976 PA 331, 1
MCL 445.901 to 445.922, or any other law of this state. 2
Enacting section 1. This act does not take effect unless all 3
of the following bills of the 103rd Legislature are enacted into 4
law: 5
(a) Senate Bill No. 1041 or House Bill No. 6103 (request no. 6
H00807'25). 7
(b) Senate Bill No. 1042 or House Bill No. 6102 (request no. 8
H00808'25). 9