OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Criminals who endanger others by fleeing police will face harsher penalties under a measure the state House passed unanimously. It now heads to the Senate.
Under current law, eluding a police vehicle can result in a zero- to 60-day jail sentence for a first-time offender. Under the bill, the court must impose an additional 366 days of imprisonment to a sentence if it is proven that the person was trying to evade police.
"Right now the gamble is worth it for criminals deciding whether to run," said Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, the bill's sponsor, in a prepared statement. "This makes it very clear that if you take off and endanger our community roads, you'll pay the price."
Takko said the measure passed in the House on Thursday would be named after two young men who were killed in Yakima last year after the car they were riding in was struck during a high-speed police chase involving a stolen car.
Edgar Mendoza Trevino, 19, of Yakima, and his best friend, Guillermo "Bobby" Aguilar, 19, died as a result of Oct. 22, 2006, crash.
The man driving the stolen car, Blake Edward Young, 20, had been previously convicted for car theft and attempting to elude in King County.
"We need to get these people off the road," Takko said on the House floor.
Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, said criminals need to know they would face a year in prison if they try to outrun police.
"I truly believe this is a behavior changing law," he said.
Also on Thursday, the House passed:
- On a 83-13 vote, a measure that requires health insurance plans and disability insurance contracts to cover colon cancer screenings and laboratory tests. The measure is House Bill 1337.
- On a 58-38 vote, a measure that requires any school or school district that allows military recruiters to have access to students or student records to allow the same access to representatives of the Job Corps, Peace Corps, and AmeriCorps. The measure is House Bill 2026.
- On a 94-2 vote, a measure that eliminates the current Tourism Development Advisory Committee, replacing it with the Washington Tourism Commission, a group dedicated to expanding the tourism industry throughout the state. The measure is House Bill 1276.
- On a 86-10 vote, a measure that requires health care facilities to report hospital-acquired infections. The measure is House Bill 1106.
- On a 96-0 vote, a measure that allows a physician convicted of DUI who fulfills certain requirements and completes a substance abuse program to not be subject to disciplinary action. The measure is House Bill 1967.
- On a 96-0 vote, a measure that allows developmentally disabled students to graduate high school with their class. The measure is House Bill 1051.
