JUNEAU, ALASKA - A price-gouging bill targeting gasoline refiners received a hearing earlier this week before a skeptical state Senate committee, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, the bill??s sponsor, told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee that Alaska??s major gasoline refiners mark up their cost of crude oil in order to charge artificially high prices.

The proposal stipulates that prices cannot exceed 10% of those charged by Seattle-based refiners. Those companies found guilty of price gouging would face a penalty equal to at least 10 times the profit gained from the practice.

State Sen. Cathy Giessel said the proposal is off base and amounts to a "jobs bill for attorneys," establishing a litigation-friendly environment that would harm companies that provide Alaskans with a needed resource. She added that Seattle is a poor comparison, as the cost to get crude oil to Alaska is much higher.

"This appears to vilify refineries by saying that they're 'unconscionable' and 'disreputable,' " Giessel said.