Bill headed to Senate seeks to clarify penalties for stealing Oklahoma shopping carts
Rep. Rande Worthen, R-Lawton, left, is the author of a bill that would specifically criminalize the theft of shopping carts. Worthen is pictured during the legislative session on May 30 at the state Capitol. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — House lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would specifically criminalize the removal of shopping carts from businesses, a move that critics said targets homeless Oklahomans.
House Bill 1689 would make possessing or removing a shopping cart from the parking area of a retail establishment illegal, whether 'permanently or temporarily.' It is already illegal to steal property, but bill author Rep. Rande Worthen, R-Lawton, said this legislation 'is clarifying that shopping carts are property and to take it is illegal.'
Worthen said a Walmart in his community is losing 1,000 to 1,200 shopping carts, at a cost of about $250,000 per year to replace them. He said he hopes his legislation will lead to cleaner and safer communities without shopping carts discarded in ravines or along the side of a road.
He said his legislation is not meant to target the unhoused, but the purpose of the measure still drew skepticism from House Democrats who said it will disproportionately affect the poor.
'This is not a problem of cartels running shopping cart rings,' said Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa. 'We're talking about impoverished people taking carts to either carry all of the belongings that they own because they are experiencing homelessness or to get their items from one place to another. … As someone who has spent a significant amount of their life in poverty, or close to it, and knowing that many of our constituents are much closer to homelessness than wealth, I greatly encourage a 'no' vote on this bill.'
The penalty for stealing a shopping cart would be a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail, a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both.
The measure faced bipartisan questions about how law enforcement would enforce it and if Oklahomans could be prosecuted if they find and decide to keep discarded shopping carts.
Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, said lawmakers spent nearly an hour of their time Wednesday 'discussing the life and death of a shopping cart in a municipality.'
Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, replied that discussion is one of the few instances that Democratic lawmakers have a say.
'This is an important one to discuss, because, as the author himself reiterated several times, this is already the law,' he said. 'And from our perspective, and the educator perspective of some of my caucus members, we know that this is a tool that will be used to target those experiencing homelessness.'
Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, said he was 'born into a family retail business' and keeping track of the store's property is the responsibility of the owner.
'This is something that we should be taking care of in the private sector, and leave the government out of it,' he said.
The bill passed 54-33, with bipartisan opposition. It heads to the Senate for consideration.
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