How are the officials in the Carolinas and Georgia responding to the gas issues?We are breaking it down for you. But first a little background on why people are racing to the pump.Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the east coast, halted operations last week after revealing a ransomware attack that it said had affected some of its systems.The operator of a major U.S. fuel pipeline said it hopes to have services mostly restored by the end of the week as the FBI and administration officials identified the culprits as a gang of criminal hackers. The White House said in a statement late Monday that it was monitoring supply shortages in parts of the Southeast and that President Joe Biden had directed federal agencies to bring their resources to bear. SOUTH CAROLINASouth Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tweeted the following on Tuesday afternoon: Attorney General Alan Wilson Tuesday that he has declared an abnormal disruption in the market following the hacking of the Colonial Pipeline and therefore the state’s price gouging statute is in effect.“I’m urging everyone to be careful and be patient,” Wilson said. “We hope this gas shortage will last just a few days, but we must be wary of individuals looking to unfairly take advantage of the situation through price gouging. According to state law, price gouging constitutes a criminal violation and an unfair trade practice.Full details here. GEORGIA: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he is suspending state taxes on motor fuels through Saturday to offset increasing prices after a computer hack led a key pipeline that carries fuel to much of Georgia to shut down.The Republican said Tuesday that he wanted to provide price relief from increasing fuel prices because of the Colonial Pipeline outage.“It will probably help level the price at the pump off for a little while,” Kemp told reporters at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Chamblee.Georgia collects a gasoline tax of 28.7 cents a gallon and a diesel tax of 32.2 cents a gallon. The tax is collected by distributors and paid to the state.However, Kemp is urging people not to hoard gasoline, saying he expected quick relief from the supply crunch.“You don’t need to go out and fill up every 5-gallon can you’ve got,” Kemp said. “Get what you need, let everybody else get what they need to get to work, you know, do the things you need to do. But we are seeing some shortages around the state, so we just don’t want to have a run on the pumps.” Scattered gas stations in metro Atlanta were out of fuel Monday and Tuesday, but most were operating normally. The pipeline also carries jet fuel, and planes at the busy suburban airport where Kemp spoke Tuesday were being fueled and taking off.Kemp’s order also waives weight limits on tanker trucks that carry fuel to stations, saying he wanted to maximize deliveries by truck. Federal officials Monday waived driving time limits with the same goal.The governor’s order also warns against price gouging.“While not all price increases qualify as gouging, we do want to make clear that anyone taking advantage of this disruption, and making a quick buck off the backs of Georgians will not be tolerated,” Kemp said.Gas prices in Georgia were averaging $2.87 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA. That’s an 11-cent jump since Monday and a 16-cent jump since last week.Privately held Colonial Pipeline, which is based in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard. The pipeline supplies not only Atlanta and north Georgia, but has a spur that runs south through Macon and Albany to Bainbridge.The pipeline shut down Friday after a ransomware attack by gang of criminal hackers that calls itself DarkSide.NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 213 Monday, declaring a state of emergency in North Carolina and temporarily suspending motor vehicle fuel regulations to ensure adequate fuel supply supplies throughout the state."Today's emergency declaration will help North Carolina prepare for any potential motor vehicle fuel supply interruptions across the state and ensure motorists are able to have access to fuel," said Cooper. The Order received concurrence from the Council of State.Read Executive Order No. 213 in its entirety here. “North Carolina’s price gouging law is in effect – please let my office know if businesses or people might be trying to profit off this situation so we can hold them accountable," Attorney General Josh Stein said Tuesday. "North Carolina’s law against price gouging, or charging too much in times of a crisis, goes into effect when the governor declares a state of emergency," a release said. "In some cases, businesses and industries that are heavily impacted by the incident causing the state of emergency have a reasonable need to increase prices in order to resupply, but they should disclose these increases and allow people to make informed purchasing decisions. Businesses cannot, however, unreasonably raise the price of goods or services to profit from a state of emergency."Report potential price gouging by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or by filing a complaint at https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint/price-gouging/.