An effort to make it easier to investigate allegations of fuel price gouging was unveiled last week in South Carolina.

The legislation was proposed Tuesday, Nov. 15, by state Attorney General Henry McMaster and sponsored by House Speaker Bobby Harrell. Lawmakers will consider it in the regular session that begins in January.

The proposal would allow authorities to look into possible gouging if an emergency is declared in another state affecting the price of goods in South Carolina. Currently, officials may not investigate such allegations as a criminal matter unless South Carolina is in the midst of a declared state of emergency, The Associated Press reported.

“We learned after Hurricane Katrina that we have a weakness in our law,” Harrell, R-Charleston, told The State newspaper.

In the days following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, McMaster’s office received more than 1,550 complaints of price gouging, which state law defines as using an emergency to charge “unconscionable” prices far above anything that can be justified by supply and demand.

A handful of civil investigations were opened. If the state had been under a state of emergency, those fuel retailers might have faced criminal investigations, McMaster said.

The proposal would not change current misdemeanor criminal penalties of a $1,000 fine and/or 30 days in jail, per occurrence.

The National Conference of State Legislatures reports 27 states have some type of price-gouging ban with many others pursuing their own rules. The laws in many of those states are triggered by emergency declarations.