(Austin, TX)  —  A state lawmaker from Houston wants to make “porch piracy” a more serious crime than it is.

Stealing a package off a porch is currently a Class C misdemeanor if the contents are worth less than 100-dollars, which is often the case.  Even if the thief is caught, he only gets a ticket.  State Representative Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat, has filed a bill to make package theft a state jail felony.  Wu says it’s frustrating that a lot of the suspects are clearly caught on surveillance video, only to face almost no consequences for their crimes.