Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced a bill today that will fine those selling and or counterfeiting tickets for Barack Obama’s Inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, set to take place on January 20th in Washington, DC.

240,000 of them are being made available through senate and congressional offices for free, but the high level of demand has fetched as much as $60,000 a ticket, Feinstein said. Additionally, Feinstein said the overwhelming demand to attend the swearing-in ceremony has caused online scalping at sites like eBay’s ticket venture StubHub and Craigslist for prices reaching as much as $40,000. In a statement, she adds:

“The Inauguration of the President is one of the most important rituals of our democracy. The chance to witness this event should not be bought and sold like tickets to a football game. This legislation is meant to immediately stop the unscrupulous behavior of those who obtain these tickets for free and then seek to profit by selling them, often at dramatically inflated prices. This bill also would target those duping the public with fraudulent tickets or promises of tickets they don’t actually have. It is my hope that Congress will pass this legislation during this week’s lame-duck session so that we can stop scam artists and profiteers from maligning this historic event.”

EBay has banned auctioning of inaugural tickets after the representatives from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies insisted them to do so.

If legislation passes, a wrongdoer will be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to a year in prison.

There are still auctions for Presidential Inaugural Galas, however, with Illinois tickets being demanded for as much as $1,500.