AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Lying about military awards and then gaining money or something else of value through that deception could result in a fine of up to $10,000 if a bill being considered by the Maine Legislature becomes law.

But the proposal received a less-than-enthusiastic reception Monday during a hearing before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

“It’s an insult to people who have fought and served many hours outside this country,” said Kenneth Capron of the Maine Center for Constitutional Studies, a think tank associated with the conservative, Chicago-based Heartland Institute.

False claims of military deeds and awards have been the subject of a number of books and a national law known as the Stolen Valor Act, which has been declared unconstitutional because it infringes on free speech rights.

The bill reviewed Monday attempts to address the flaw in the federal law by making it a crime in Maine only if something of value is gained through that misrepresentation.

Similar bills are being submitted in statehouses in every state, said Capron, whose group asked that the bill in be submitted in Maine.

Responding to a question from a committee member, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. David Johnson, R-Eddington, said he was not sure how widespread a problem bogus military claims are in Maine, but Maine National Guard officials say fake claims are spotted from time to time.

“I’d like to know that we’re solving a problem” before passing a law, said Sen. Stanley Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, a committee member. Other committee members expressed coolness to the bill’s mandatory minimum jail sentence of nine months in some cases.

While acknowledging that misrepresentation of military honors for personal gain is “horrific conduct,” Walter McKee, representing the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the state’s theft by deception law already addresses such cases. There “could be hundreds of bills” addressing different scenarios, McKee said.

The maximum fine of $10,000 is also out of sync with fines imposed in the rest of Maine’s criminal code, said John Pelletier, chair of the Criminal Law Advisory Commission, which advises the Legislature on criminal law issues.

“This would create a special type of theft by deception,” said Pelletier.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union also opposed the bill.

While the number of cases in Maine was not known, dozens of people have been arrested throughout the country under the federal law, which was enacted in 2006 and ruled unconstitutional last August.

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