April 15, 2009

Ross supports amendment holding the line on auto theft penalties

The House today unanimously passed Senate Bill 5746, which appeared dead April 10. Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, voted in favor of an amendment which reinforced financial penalties for auto theft. After the amendment was adopted, he voted in favor of the bill.

"I'm glad my colleagues and I were able to convey the importance of penalizing auto theft crimes," Ross said. "This is increasingly important to my district and something we need in order to fight the growth of gangs and other criminal behavior."

Just Monday, April 13, the National Insurance Crime Bureau released information showing the city of Yakima has the third highest rate of auto theft in the nation.

"Though our area has an alarming rate of auto theft, these cases have dropped dramatically throughout the state as a result of legislation we passed in 2007," Ross said. "We need to continue with this effective policy and move forward."

The bill as adopted would allow juvenile courts to have jurisdiction over juveniles who may have been the subject of adult court proceedings. It now goes back to the Senate for agreement on amendments made.

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