Topeka ? An anti-profiteering bill prompted by price spikes for gasoline last Sept. 11 won Senate approval Wednesday over the objections of senators who prefer leaving the marketplace alone.

The measure would subject merchants to lawsuits and possible fines for gouging consumers with high prices after disasters.

The 26-14 vote sent the bill to the House. Senators debated the bill Tuesday and advanced it to final action on a voice vote.

Following the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York last Sept. 11, long lines formed at gas pumps in some Kansas communities and prices soared to $5 a gallon or more amid rumors that fuel would be in short supply.

Sen. Derek Schmidt said Kansas’ Consumer Protection Act is vague about profiteering. That law allows individuals, county prosecutors and the attorney general to sue merchants in district court and provides for fines for “unconscionable” actions.

The new anti-profiteering law would apply after a disaster and address prices for necessary services, such as housing and fuel. Price increases of more than 50 percent would be evidence of profiteering.

“We reinvent the rules every time there’s a disaster or there’s a new person in the county’s attorney office,” said Schmidt, R-Independence.

But other Republicans noted that gasoline prices quickly dropped back to normal levels last fall. They suggested the bill is unnecessary.

“I believe the markets are self-correcting for the most part,” said Sen. Ed Pugh, R-Wamego.

Sen. Nancey Harrington, R-Goddard, suggested supporters were trying to score political points rather than combat an actual problem.

“I wonder if we should include an amendment to prohibit political profiteering,” she said.

Supporters said they are trying to protect Kansans when they are most vulnerable and to help business owners.

“It lets the business community know what price-gouging is so they can govern themselves,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Vratil, R-Leawood.