A Republican lawmaker has come up with an idea to quickly identify taggers and eradicate graffiti. The bipartisan bill, approved Saturday in the state House of Representatives, is scheduled for a Senate hearing.
Representative Andrew Barkis of Olympia has proposed a pilot program to test new technologies and techniques aimed at mitigating the rampant spread of graffiti vandalism.
“To explore different ways of cleaning it up – of preventing graffiti on our infrastructure throughout our state.”
Barkis says House Bill 1989 provides tools to the state Department of Transportation to prevent tagging on buildings, overpasses, bridges, and other structures.
“Everything from drone technology to paint over the graffiti on the walls. And why this is important, Madam Speaker, is that we’re spending millions and millions of dollars doing this and with that drone technology, maybe one or two people could keep on top of this at a much faster pace.”
Advanced surveillance systems would be used to identify and apprehend individuals involved in graffiti vandalism, bolstering deterrence measures.
House Bill 1989 is scheduled to be heard February 20th in the Senate Transportation Committee.
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