After recent studies showed thousands of rental listings in Los Angeles appearing to violate price gouging laws in Los Angeles after the California wildfires, LA County raised the penalty for price gouging from $10,

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday to increase the penalty for price gouging to a maximum of $50,000 per violation.

County Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger, who both saw swaths of their districts decimated by fire, asked county lawyers to draft a resolution that would increase the maximum penalty for price gouging across L.

The County Counsel was also authorized to consider initiating or joining existing litigation regarding price gouging and price fixing algorithm software used by housing websites.

There are laws against price gouging in Kentucky, but they only go into effect when a state of emergency has been declared. It specifically mentions a price that is grossly in excess, that’s more than 10% above the price prior to the emergency declaration–that is not related to higher costs to the seller.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a temporary increase to the existing penalty for those found guilty of price gouging, raising the maximum civil fine from $10,000 to $50,000 for each violation.

Board Chair Kathryn Barger cited a disturbing trend of price gouging, preying on the most vulnerable communities.