State lawmakers Wednesday rejected Gov. Mark Sanford's veto of a bill that gives the state attorney general broader authority to prosecute cases of price gouging by gasoline stations.

Attorney General Henry McMaster had urged lawmakers to override Sanford's veto, saying the legislation would enable prosecutors to act quickly and file criminal charges when "unconscionable prices" were charged in South Carolina after disasters in other parts of the country.

"What this does is unleashes the very appropriate power that the attorney general otherwise has in all crimes to address price gouging," McMaster said.

The bill allows McMaster to investigate and prosecute price gouging if a state of emergency is declared by the president in other regions of the country and the attorney general determines prices and supplies of commodities such as gasoline are adversely affected in South Carolina.

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The legislation was filed following Hurricane Katrina-related gasoline shortages last summer that caused steep increases in pump prices.

Sanford had objected to the measure, saying while he didn't believe McMaster would abuse his power, the Governor's Office should be the "check and balance" in determining whether an emergency in commodity supplies existed to help protect against potential abuse.

"We just don't think it makes sense for the same individual to determine a market disruption and go forward and enforce the price-gouging laws," said Joel Sawyer, a spokesman for Sanford.

The House voted 89-25 and the Senate voted 34-8 to override the veto.

Using a civil statute, McMaster's office investigated 1,500 complaints of price gouging related to high gas prices and in April announced $500 settlements with seven Upstate businesses, which didn't admit any wrongdoing.

McMaster said lawmakers needed to allow criminal prosecutions because the civil statute was too slow and cumbersome.