Oregonians for Food and Shelter,
Statement in SB 570
The crime of metal theft in Oregon is increasing exponentially as meth addicts and others looking for a quick buck are ripping off anything made of non-ferrous or semi-precious metal to sell to scrap dealers and recyclers. The hearings on SB 570 are being used as the means to take testimony on all sides of this issue instead of holding individual hearings on seven different metal theft related bills.
OFS knows that farmers, foresters, utilities, construction companies, food processors and other businesses are being ripped off daily. Not only do they lose thousands of dollars in equipment, but just as important, the theft can cause significant economic impact due to replacement costs or resulting operational losses. In agriculture for example — crop damage due to sprinkler heads, irrigation pipe or pump electrical wire theft could be much more significant that the price of the metal stolen itself. We have been told that some legislators do not believe this is a real problem for agriculture and forestry businesses.
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