(a) As used in this section:
(1) “COVID-19” means any of the following:
a. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
b. The disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
(2) “COVID-19 order” means a modification to the COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration or another order issued by the Governor under Chapter 31 of Title 20 and relating to the COVID-19 State of Emergency.
(3) “COVID-19 recovery period” means the period beginning immediately upon termination of the COVID-19 State of Emergency and continuing until the sixty-first day following the termination of the COVID-19 State of Emergency.
(4) “COVID-19 State of Emergency” means the state of emergency declared effective by the Governor as of Friday, March 13, 2020, at 8:
00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time under the COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration, and any subsequent state of emergency relating to COVID-19.(5) “COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration” means the Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat issued by the Governor on March 12, 2020.
(6) “Price gouging” means an excessive increase in the price of goods or services offered for sale by an entity as compared to the sales price offered by the entity in the usual course of business immediately before the date of the COVID-19 State of Emergency. If an entity did not sell or offer to sell the goods or services before the COVID-19 State of Emergency, the price at which that good or service was generally available within the State immediately before March 12, 2020, will be used to determine if an entity is engaging in price gouging.
(7) “State of emergency” means as defined in § 3102 of Title 20.
(b) (1) An entity doing business in this State may not engage in price gouging during the COVID-19 recovery period.
(2) It is prima facie evidence that an entity has engaged in price gouging if all of the following apply:
a. The price increase is more than 10% above the sales price offered by the entity in the usual course of business immediately before the date of the COVID-19 State of Emergency. If an entity did not sell or offer to sell goods or services before the COVID-19 State of Emergency, the price at which that good or service was generally available within the State immediately before March 12, 2020, will be used to determine if there has been a price increase of more than 10%.
b. The increase in price is not attributable to additional costs imposed on the seller of the good or service.
(c) A violation of subsection (b) of this section is an unlawful act under § 2513 of this title, and a violation of this subchapter.
(d) Subject to paragraph (e)(1) of this section, subsections (b) and (c) of this section supersede any protections relating to price gouging contained in a COVID-19 order.
(e) (1) The Governor may, based on an evaluation of market needs or conditions, issue a COVID-19 order that does the following as it relates to a protection under subsections (b) and (c) of this section:
a. Modifies the protection to impose a less restrictive protection that transitions back toward the applicable law that was in effect before the COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration. The less restrictive protection applies during the COVID-19 recovery period.
b. Suspends the protection. The suspended protection does not apply during the COVID-19 recovery period.
(2) Nothing in this subsection limits the Governor's power under Chapter 31 of Title 20. However, a price gouging protection in a COVID-19 order that does not comply with paragraph (e)(1) of this section does not apply after the termination of the COVID-19 State of Emergency.