HARRISBURG - The gas-pump sticker shock in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath couldn't have come at a worse time as motorists fueled up for their Labor Day weekend travels.

The clamor of consumer complaints in Pennsylvania has reached state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who is participating in a multi-state inquiry into the price increases.

If anything positive emerges from the firestorm, it may be that the Legislature will act this fall to impose tougher penalties against price gouging.

At least two measures, both in the Senate, are awaiting action. One bill would impose $10,000 fines and allow courts to issue injunctions against the practice, and another would prevent price gouging during state emergencies and natural disasters.

"The attorney general is obviously interested in a clear-cut definition of price gouging, and a threshold for when a retailer is leaving profit and jumping into profiteering," said Barbara Petito, a spokeswoman for Corbett.

Per-gallon gas prices exceeded $3 in parts of the state even before Labor Day, and the statewide average price of regular unleaded peaked at $3.22 per gallon - a record high - by Wednesday, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

As of Friday, when AAA reported that the statewide average for regular unleaded dipped to $3.15 per gallon, Corbett's office had received about 1,100 complaints about alleged price gouging, Petito said.

But it's difficult to prosecute such crimes, which are considered civil offenses punishable by a $1,000 fine per offense under Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Law.

The law gives courts the discretion to decide whether prices are unconscionably high, but doesn't explicitly define that threshold.

Aides to legislative leaders say they expect to work closely with Corbett on refining the details of an anti-gouging measure.

"There is a high likelihood that we will pass something this fall," said Erik Arneson, chief of staff to Senate Republican Leader David Brightbill of Lebanon County.

Retailers expressed some frustration during a recent legislative hearing on gas prices about having to bear the brunt of customers' wrath, contending that higher wholesale prices have translated into a corresponding increase at the pump.

"The consumer sees the price at the gas pump and doesn't have any reason to know what happens in the supply chain," said Randolph St. John Jr., senior vice president of association services for the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and the Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council.

A number of lawmakers are eager to jump on the issue with promises to introduce other proposals, such as a measure mirroring a New Jersey law that prohibits retailers from increasing the price of gasoline more than once in a 24-hour period.

It's too soon to say which of those measures Gov. Ed Rendell will support, spokeswoman Kate Philips said.