Anchorage Daily News

State lawmakers seeking relief for Alaska drivers who are coping with high gasoline prices say they are running into dead ends.

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After a third hearing on the matter Friday, the lawmakers said they still don't understand why gas prices in Alaska aren't coming down as fast as they are in the Lower 48.

They also haven't found a magic bullet to fix the problem.

The House Judiciary Committee is preparing a report that will describe gas price-related legislation the Legislature could consider next year -- from establishing state control over prices to enacting a price-gouging law.

But the Republican House member spearheading the report said he doesn't favor such laws because additional regulation might harm consumers instead of helping them.

"I don't think I'd be inclined to vote for it," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks.

Alaska has limited in-state competition -- only two refineries produce most of the state's gasoline and other suppliers have little incentive to make the expensive, risky investment of moving here to compete with them, state officials said. One of the two, the Flint Hills refinery in North Pole, says it has been losing money this year despite high prices at the pump. Its executives say they are considering putting the company up for sale.

As a result of that limited competition, Alaskans suffer some of the highest gas prices in the country. In recent months, prices in Alaska's biggest cities have come down but nowhere near as much as they've declined in the Lower 48.

This summer, the growing disparity between Alaska and Lower-48 gas prices prompted two state investigations -- by the Department of Law, looking for possible illegal activity, and this one by the House Judiciary Committee, looking for an explanation for the price disparity and a possible solution.

On Friday, Ramras said he was frustrated by the lack of progress in bringing Alaska prices in line with the Lower 48. He urged Gov. Sarah Palin to meet with the two refiners that produce Alaska's gasoline and pressure them to lower their prices.

But the Palin administration wants to hold off on taking action until the Department of Law finishes its investigation into illegal pricing.

"We wouldn't want to pre-judge the outcome," said Bill McAllister, a Palin spokesman.

The Department of Law published a memo Thursday afternoon explaining that Alaska refiners can sell gas for whatever price they want as long as they don't engage in illegal price fixing. However, high gas prices could violate state law if they reach "an unconscionable level," the memo said.

Ramras seized on that factoid at Friday's hearing. He said plenty of Alaskans find it unconscionable that their gasoline prices are so high when Lower-48 prices are diving.

But it isn't a simple matter to pronounce Alaska's prices officially unconscionable, said Ed Sniffen, a state consumer protection attorney who is leading the Department of Law probe.

It's a "tricky analysis" involving many legal concepts, he said, adding that the law department's investigation will be published before the end of the year.

The Judiciary committee report will be published by the first week of January, but Ramras said he hopes to continue holding hearings until Alaska gasoline prices come in line with the Lower 48's.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

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