Washington House Democrats

Dawn Morrell bill cracks down on metal theft

Jan. 15, 2007

OLYMPIA—  Prompted by a growing epidemic of metal thefts, state Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup) is calling on the Legislature to make it harder for metal thieves to profit from their crimes.

“Meth addicts and other criminals are increasingly stealing copper and other metals because they can get cash quickly from resellers who often pay good money and ask few questions,” said Morrell.

Morrell proposed legislation today that would require pawn brokers and other second-hand dealers to retain metal property, including junk metal and melted metals, for at least 30 days after receiving it. They would also be required to gather more information during transactions, which would be available for inspection by law enforcement officers.

Morrell, who worked with the Association of Washington Cities and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to draft her legislation, held up a stack of news reports from The News Tribune, The Olympian and other local papers to show that metal thefts are on the rise locally. At least three deaths, including a September 2005 electrocution in Fife, have been attributed to botched attempts to steal copper in the past two years, according to Associated Press news reports.

“We can’t do anything about the metal prices that are fueling metal theft, but we can deter the crimes by making it easier to catch the bad guys and their enablers,” said Morrell.

Morrell’s House Bill 1251 has 20 Democratic and Republican co-sponsors.