Hourly Update

Top prosecutors agree national price gouging law needed

Top state prosecutors from across the nation are finalizing recommendations for a federal price gouging law they say is needed to protect consumers. Meeting in Phoenix this week, attorneys general from across the nation spent part of Wednesday putting the final touches to recommendations they'll send to senators considering crafting such a law. Defining "price gouging" and debating which circumstances should trigger it consumed much of the morning, but "all of us agreed this is a necessary piece of legislation," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said. Price gouging laws are on the books in 28 states, but attempts to pass one in Arizona have failed. Goddard promised to try again this year. New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey said Hurricane Katrina showed why a national law is needed. Gasoline price spikes happened in many areas outside hurricane-ravaged regions, but many prosecutors were unable to pursue price-gouging complaints because of rules requiring a state of emergency declaration before the laws kick in. "We found retailers raising their prices five or six times a day," Harvey said. "This had nothing to do with supply. This was New Jersey."