CARSON CITY -- Noting that taggers cause $30 million in property damage each year in Clark County, Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera called for legislators Monday to get tough, including mandatory felony sentences for those who cause at least $5,000 in damage.
The Las Vegas Democrat told Assembly Judiciary Committee members that taggers often get off with a slap on the wrist because judges refuse to levy fines and sentences permitted under the law.
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His Assembly Bill 14 would create mandatory fines and sentences, instead of giving discretion to judges.
Taggers who cause less than $1,000 in property damage would be required to pay $400 and perform 100 hours of community service work. Their driver's licenses would be taken for at least six months and those who are underage would lose driving privileges until age 18.
Harsher sentences would apply for taggers who cause more property damage, including a mandatory felony charge when the damage exceeds $5,000.
These offenders would spend at least 10 days in jail and be required to make restitution.
The bill also would make it a misdemeanor crime for someone to carry in plain sight a marker or a spray can near schools, public buildings and other sites.
Now, taggers can be arrested only if caught while defacing property.
Stan Olsen, a Las Vegas police lobbyist, testified Monday that one tagger caused $2 million in damage in Clark County in one year.
"Community service and fines aren't being used by the courts," Olsen said.
Oceguera, who is a North Las Vegas Fire Department battalion chief noted firefighters in North Las Vegas caught one tagger in the act on the roof of a fire station.
"We (firefighters) are there 24 hours a day and he still came," he added.
"We found his (sketch) book and located a Web site that showed pictures that matched what they were putting on buildings."
Representatives of police departments, city councils, real estate organizations and businesses all testified in favor of the bill.
Judiciary Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, said he will schedule a work session to consider amendments to the bill. He said graffiti has been sprayed repeatedly on a wall of a home he owns with his brother.
Tom Barry, general manager of a Sonic Drive-In in Las Vegas, called taggers "hoodlums" and requested a lower threshold than $5,000 before charging them with felonies.
"Our investment in a restaurant is $2 million," he said. "These people can disrupt our business. California and Arizona set a much lower level for a felony."
The only opposition to the bill came from Lee Rowland, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.
She said legislators want to create a new felony crime category for graffiti at a time when the Department of Corrections is concerned about overcrowding.
The department has requested $300 million for prison construction. Estimates are the department needs to spend $1.9 billion on prison construction in the next 10 years because the inmate population will grow by more than 8,600.
Worried about rising prison costs, the Assembly has created a special committee to look at less costly alternatives to incarceration.
Olsen said after the meeting that he doubted more than a handful of taggers would end up in jail. That could be enough to deter would-be taggers , he added.
Assembly Minority Leader Garn Mabey, R-Las Vegas, predicted the committee will reject creating a felony crime for graffiti.
He said he has detected a lot of opposition to that idea.
Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, expressed reservations about "making felons of out someone who is a knucklehead."
He said a 20-year-old who has never been convicted of any crime suddenly could be a felon.
But Horne added he is disturbed by the graffiti he sees every day along freeway soundwalls.
