The 2013 legislative session is under way, and we are hard at work representing District 58, in Tallahassee.
I wanted to take a moment to tell you about one of the important issues we are working on this session, which deals with the theft of utility services.
Over the years, theft of electricity has become more of an issue for utility services and their customers, and Florida’s laws haven’t kept up with the times. Currently, the criminal penalty for stealing utility services is a misdemeanor, as prescribed in Ch. 812.14 of the Florida Statutes, regardless of the dollar value of the electricity stolen.
Tampa Electric Company alone reports more than $4 million in electricity has been stolen over the past few years in the Tampa area, and the Florida Public Service Commission estimates more than $1 billion in electricity is stolen every year in our state.
Most of the cases involving prosecution for theft of utility services are related to grow houses, because of the volume of electricity that has been stolen. In the case of grow houses, utility theft is often a sophisticated operation and can involve stealing more than $40,000 dollars in electricity each month.
Unfortunately, the existing criminal penalties and minimum civil penalties have not been successful in deterring these thefts. Under the current law, suspects face just a misdemeanor charge for this massive theft.
We are changing the law to more closely match the penalties faced for theft of other commodities. If you steal $10,000 in electricity, you could be charged with a felony, just the same as if you had stolen $10,000 in jewelry. This change hopefully would be a deterrent for many criminals, and also it would enable law enforcement, the companies involved and utility customers to be placed in a better position, too, to seek restitution for the utilities stolen. By doing so, the cost of the theft does not have to be passed along to customers in the form of higher electric rates. In the case of electric cooperatives, this is especially important, because each customer is a member and owner of the business, as well, and members are especially vulnerable to rate changes.
I am proud to say that House Bill 191, Theft of Utility Services, has favorably passed the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, the Justice Appropriations Subcommittee and the Judiciary Committee, and is ready for a final vote of the floor of the Florida House of Representatives. We look forward to passing this bill into law soon and helping to bring an end to the utility theft free ride that has lasted too long at the expense of law-abiding Floridians.
If you would like to find out more information about this bill, or any others being sponsored, you can visit myfloridahouse.gov.
Thank you for allowing me to represent you in Tallahassee, and please let us know if you ever are planning to visit the Florida State Capitol during the Legislative session. We would love for you to come by our office for a visit!
State Rep. Dan Raulerson represents District 58.