Current North Carolina law allows officials to go after so-called price gougers only when a state of emergency or a disaster has been declared. But North Carolina lawmakers have approved amending their state's laws to allow such investigations when an "abnormal market disruption" is declared.
If another hurricane 700 miles away sends gas prices soaring in North Carolina, the state can seek penalties against businesses for price gouging.
N.C. lawmakers approved expanding the price-gouging law Wednesday so the governor can declare an "abnormal market disruption" when supplies are cut off by events outside the state.
The law is awaiting the governor's signature. One can only hope that politicians have a handle on what is "abnormal" in the market and what is not (in addition to determining when a price is "too high").
The state could not use the current price-gouging law to investigate pump prices that soared more than $1 a gallon in the days after Hurricane Katrina. The August storm did not strike North Carolina, but knocked out the state's chief source of gas after slamming into Louisiana.
What's abnormal about that? When supply falls, prices rise. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but my guess is that one of the consequences of this change will be shortages in gasoline and other markets.