Bohac to Graffiti Offenders: “Tag, You’re It”
AUSTIN - State Representative Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston) is pleased to announce that House Bill 2151, also known as the “Graffiti Accountability Act of 2007”, has passed the Texas House of Representatives with overwhelming support. HB 2151 is an anti-graffiti measure aimed at discouraging would-be offenders from engaging in vandalism. The bill targets delinquents who choose to “tag” public street signs or private property by requiring full restitution, and the bill increases county funding for graffiti abatement and preventive education by increasing fines paid by offenders.
“Graffiti is one of the greatest causes of blight in our neighborhoods and cities,” Bohac said. “Not only is it a crime against the property owner who suffers the damage, but it is offensive to all who live in the surrounding community. I have a message for graffiti offenders and taggers who think this is just fun and games: ‘Tag, you’re it’.”
Street and freeway signs, as well as buildings, are common targets of “taggers” - graffiti vandals who write their nicknames or “tags” so that they will be seen by their peers. Taggers thrive on placing their tag names on as many places as possible to gain notoriety, and they are known to work together with other vandals in tagging crews.
The Graffiti Accountability Act of 2007 moves the burden for cleaning or paying for the damage caused by the vandalism from the victim to the criminal, where it belongs.
Under House Bill 2151, a judge may now order a tagger to pay for or completely restore the personal or business property that was vandalized. If a graffiti offense is committed on public property, such as a traffic control device, a judge must, under HB 2151, order the vandal to replace or pay to completely restore it. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot), the cost of a neighborhood street sign typically runs between $200 to $350. A large, green overhead freeway sign can cost approximately $1,000.
In 2006 TxDot spent approximately $2.4 million tax dollars on the replacement of vandalized signs, and the City of Houston has allocated around $2.25 million tax dollars towards replacing signs and the removal of graffiti.
The Graffiti Accountability Act also increases the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Graffiti Eradication Fee that adult and juvenile offenders are ordered to pay from five dollars to fifty dollars. Once collected, these fines are sent to the county to help combat the ill-effects of graffiti through cleanup and school prevention and education programs.
”The blight caused by graffiti is an eyesore to a community and offenders need to learn the lesson that if you tag it, you buy it,” Bohac concluded. “I hope that young Texans can read the writing on the wall and see graffiti as a serious crime they can’t afford.”
House Bill 2151 now heads to the Texas Senate where it is expected to pass.