Nevada gas prices soar, price-gouging bill dropped

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has dropped a proposal to prohibit price-gouging during emergencies -- at the same time that gas prices are soaring.

The proposal had been inherited from Sandoval's predecessor, Frankie Sue Del Papa, and was listed among hundreds of legislative bill drafts.

But the proposal that had been submitted for drafting last August was marked with a "W" this week -- withdrawn from the list.

"There's a lot of homeland security discussion out there, and we wanted to make the text of this bill available to others who are considering putting such bills forward," Sandoval spokesman Tom Sargent said Friday.

Sargent also said Sandoval, just elected in November, has had to focus on many bill drafts and "wanted to be certain we put our attention on the ones we consider to be of utmost importance."

Homeland security measures expected this session include one from Assembly Democrats to make terrorism a capital offense and require hotel-casinos to develop emergency plans for evacuation in case of an attack. The plans would be filed with police agencies.

A Senate proposal would give Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn authority to keep state agency documents confidential if release of the information could aid terrorists or pose a risk to public safety.

The attorney general's plan that's now shelved would have barred price-gouging in sales of goods or services "considered to be necessities of life during and shortly after a market emergency."

The withdrawal of the proposal coincided with increased grumbling from motorists around the nation as fuel prices surged past $2 a gallon in some places.

The average retail price of regular unleaded has risen 22 cents since the beginning of the year to $1.66 a gallon. Meanwhile, wholesale prices paid by marketers have increased only 14 cents.

The Federal Trade Commission has been urged to launch an investigation of industry practices, and the American Automobile Association supports the request. The travel company said it is also concerned about why prices have gone up so much in such a short period of time.

The petroleum industry fends off critics by pointing to higher oil prices. The surge has mainly been attributed to traders' fears of supply disruptions in the event of a war in Iraq and the impact of the Venezuelan oil strike.