Senator Says SB 768 Will Protect Competition-Calls Attack Ads Distortions

State Senator Jeff Rabon defended SB 768 on Friday, saying the measure would protect Oklahoma service stations and convenience stores from massive retailers based out-of-state. He said without it, many locally- owned stations could be forced out of business, giving big retailers a virtual monopoly.

“For more than 50 years, Oklahoma has had a law on the books to prevent unfair sales practices. It says that a retailer can’t sell gasoline for less than they pay for it. They have to sell it based on what they pay plus six percent. But that law needs to be updated or else we really will see skyrocketing gas prices because of monopolies,” Rabon said.

The legislator explained the law was written at a time when fuel prices did not change as rapidly as they do today. Under current law, a retailer can pick the price that they paid for fuel at any time during the last 30 days, even if prices have risen significantly during that time.

“Those big retailers who sell everything under the sun can afford to sell gas at a loss—to them it’s just bait to get people to come inside and buy everything from groceries to trampolines to video games,” Rabon explained. “But for little mom and pop retailers those fuel sales represent as much as 70 percent of their business. They simply cannot afford to take huge losses on fuel costs like the giant outlets can. Pretty soon they’ll be forced out of business. You can bet that’s exactly what the big guys want.”

The Hugo lawmaker explained that SB 768 simply updates the law aimed at preventing such unfair sales practices by requiring retailers to base their pump price on what they paid within the last 24-hours or the most recent sales invoice.

“I suspect those big retailers are the ones behind all the attack ads against SB 768. This bill won’t affect those who follow the law. But SB 768 will prevent the kind of monopolies those retail giants would like to see occur,” Rabon said. “Despite what the public is being told, killing this bill is not in their long-term interest.”