Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed House Bill 1552, an act to reduce scrap metal theft. HB 1552 is the result of many hours of work of by State Rep. Roger Goodman’s Metal Theft task force.

Metal theft is huge problem affecting our entire state. Thieves are stealing everything: cemetery urns, farm equipment, copper from power lines and brass fittings on fire hoses. Metal is a hot commodity because it is valuable and not easily traced.

The havoc wreaked by these incidents causes expensive, destructive damage. When thieves cut copper from power lines the company doesn’t just pay to replace the copper, they pay workers to rebuild the entire system. The hazard to public safety is great.

In response to the governor signing HB 1552, Goodman said, “I’m pleased that we could get this comprehensive bill through to combat the pernicious problem of metal theft. We’re going to get the bad actors out of the second-hand metal market with a vigorous, new law enforcement effort. It will be a major step forward to protect property owners, electric utilities, famers and the public as a whole.”

The bill passed the Legislature with virtually unanimous support in the final days of the regular session.

The measure fights metal theft through licensing regulations, a “no-buy” list for prevention, and expanded criminal penalties that account not only for the cost of the stolen material but the cost of repair and the damage to public safety.