For some lawmakers, even getting one bill passed is a struggle. Others cannot get hearings.
Sen. Chuck Gray, R-19, has not only seen four of his bills go to the governor – they did on the same day.
The bills, which either received unanimous or near unanimous votes on April 25, included one that broadens the definition of a continuing criminal episode. It states that theft of property worth $1,500, committed in at least three separate incidences within three months, and done with the intent to resell the merchandise, is such an offense.
The language of S1333 is thus framed so it goes after only those who have been clearly profiting from shoplifting, according to Gray.
“You have to show that you have an intention to resale the items, which means that you are involved in an enterprise of making money at stealing. So it is not just a regular shoplifter (that is being targeted),” he told the Arizona Capitol Times.
In fact, the bill got tougher when it was voted out of the House.
To qualify as a continuing criminal offense, the Senate had initially pegged the value of goods at $2,000 and the period at six months.
Currently, a continuing criminal episode is defined as theft committed from at least three separate retail establishments within three consecutive days. It is a Class 5 felony, punishable by one and half years in prison.
“I think the chances of her [the governor] signing all four are great. There’s nothing controversial in any of these bills,” Gray said shortly after the session.
Other Gray bills
The other Gray bills that were passed on third reading were S1106, S1118, and S1131.
S1106 specifies that in a civil action, a LPG provider is only liable for damages in proportion to the provider’s percentage of fault. It also lays down the framework when a provider is not held liable for damages, such as when an alteration was made — not by the provider — to the equipment and the change “could not have been discovered by the provider in the exercise of reasonable care.”
S1118 removes the property damage threshold for motor vehicle accidents requiring a written accident report. It also reclassifies the offense of failure to stop at the scene of an accident, upping the corresponding felony offenses by one level.
S1131 increases the time allowed to pursue a case of civil traffic violation involving death from 180 days to a year.
The senator has introduced some 50 measures.