State Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, of the 35th Legislative District, is proposing stricter penalties for the crime of stealing and buying cables and wire.
House Bill 1453 cracks down on scrap metal shops that buy the stolen cable. The bill would fine shops $10,000 on a first offense and $20,000 on a second offense. A third offense would result in the shop losing its business license.
House Bill 1954 goes after those who steal the cables, increasing the criminal penalty by making the destruction of critical communications infrastructure a class C felony.
During testimony on House Bill 1453 in the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee last week, Griffey described the damage the thefts were causing in his district.
"In several parts of my district, they still use hard-wired phone lines. There are areas in my district that have no cell coverage whatsoever. They have very little satellite coverage," Griffey said. "Thieves are taking a pike pole, which I used as a firefighter. They will grab it, pull it to the ground, wrap it around a hitch, and drive away with five miles of very expensive cable."
Griffey explained that the cable loss has left some in his district without communications.
"Some people that read this bill described it as a hammer. Yes, it's a hammer," said Griffey. "I think Washington state should send a very clear signal that in Washington state if you're going to steal our ability to communicate with one another and call 911, we're going to take that very seriously."
