PLI Bulletin

Price Gouging, Racial Data, Fiscal Freefall and More

Posted on April 8, 2020

Protection from Price Gouging During Emergencies Act: Thirty-three states have prohibitions against price gouging during a declared emergency, however, only a few statutes fully cover emergency situations and employ a practical standard for price gouging. The Protection from Price Gouging During Emergencies Act, modeled after a 2016 California law, uses a percentage limit.

Demand data about racial disparities in COVID-19 testing and treatment: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the great majority of state health departments have not been releasing information about the race and ethnicity of people who have been tested, tested positive, hospitalized or died because of COVID-19. The data exists, absolutely. To know what you can do about it, read the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Developing Progressive Leaders, an interview with Gloria Totten: The Great Battlefield podcast interviewed our President, Gloria Totten, about her career from Political Director at NARAL to founding the Public Leadership Institute where we work to develop progressive leaders. Listen to the podcast here.

Fiscal freefall for state and local governments: The crisis we are not (yet) addressing: A column in The Hill explains how the coronavirus crisis will crash state and local tax revenues in the coming months, and what should be done about it.

What’s Essential? Confusion Clouds Workers, Employers: Because the rules about “stay at home” orders have been written state-by-state and city-by-city, there is a great deal of confusion about who is an “essential” worker. A Pew Center article explains the problem.

Abortions denied with COVID as the excuse: Texas is currently denying abortions statewide based on a clearly unconstitutional executive order which was at least temporarily upheld by a 2-1 decision in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Similar orders to deny abortions in Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio are at least temporarily blocked. Read our Repro Rights Report for more.