File No. 101

House of Representatives, March 23, 2010

The Committee on General Law reported through REP. SHAPIRO of the 144th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2010) (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Retail property" means any new article, product, commodity, item or component intended to be sold in retail commerce;

(2) "Value" means the retail value of an item as advertised by the affected retail establishment, to include applicable taxes; and

(3) "Retail property fence" means a person or business that buys retail property knowing that the property is stolen.

(b) Any person who, with the intent of monetary gain, in conjunction with another person and within a one-hundred-eighty-day period, takes possession of, carries away, transfers or causes retail property having a value exceeding one thousand dollars to be carried away or takes or causes such property having a value exceeding one thousand dollars to be moved to or placed in the control of a retail property fence shall have committed the offense of organized retail theft.

(c) Any person who receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells or disposes of any retail property acquired in violation of subsection (b) of this section, with the intent to distribute the proceeds or otherwise promote, manage, carry on or facilitate a violation of said subsection, shall have committed the offense of accessory to organized retail theft.

(d) It shall not be a defense to a charge of accessory to organized retail theft in violation of subsection (c) of this section that the retail property was obtained by means other than through a violation of said subsection if the property was explicitly represented to the person charged under said subsection (c) as being obtained through the commission of organized retail theft.

(e) Any person who violates subsection (b) of this section (1) shall be guilty of a class D felony, or (2) if such person derives a financial benefit of five thousand dollars or more as a result of such violation, such person shall be guilty of a class C felony.

(f) Any person who violates subsection (c) of this section (1) shall be guilty of a class D felony, or (2) if such person derives a financial benefit of five thousand dollars or more as a result of such violation, such person shall be guilty of a class C felony.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill establishes new crimes of “organized retail theft” and “accessory to organized retail theft”. To the extent that these changes increase the likelihood that offenders would be prosecuted or receive harsher penalties than currently provided for under the larceny statutes, a potential revenue gain from criminal fines and potential cost for incarceration and/or probation supervision in the community would result. It is anticipated that relatively few fines would be imposed on an annual basis, and, consequently, any revenue gain under the bill is expected to be minimal.

On average, it costs the state $3,736 to supervise an offender on probation in the community as compared to $47,425 to incarcerate the offender.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 5223

AN ACT CONCERNING ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT.

SUMMARY:

This bill establishes two new crimes, organized retail theft and accessory to organized retail theft. A person commits organized retail theft when he or she, for monetary gain, works with someone else to (1) take, carry away, transfer, or causes to be carried away retail property valued at more than $1,000 or (2) takes the property or causes it to be moved or placed with a person or business that knowingly buys stolen property. Retail property is any new article, product, commodity, item, or component intended to be sold in retail commerce. The bill covers only crimes committed within “a 180 day period.” It is not clear (1) what action triggers the 180 days, (2) if the 180-days are consecutive, or (3) if the bill applies to a single theft valued at over $1,000.

A person commits accessory to organized theft if he or she receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or otherwise disposes of the stolen property intending to (1) distribute the proceeds or (2) promote, manage, carry on, or facilitate a violation of organized retail theft. A claim that the property was not stolen is not a defense if the property was explicitly represented as being obtained through the commission of organized retail theft.

The penalty is the same for both crimes. Violators are guilty of a class C felony (punishable by one to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $ 10,000, or both) if the financial benefit is $ 5,000 or more and a class D felony (punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $ 5,000, or both) if the benefit is less than $ 5,000.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2010

BACKGROUND

Larceny

By law, a person commits larceny when he or she intentionally takes property or services from the rightful owner. The degree of larceny depends on the value of the property or service. Second-degree larceny, a class C felony, is the taking of property or service of more than $5,000 (CGS § 53a-123). Third-degree larceny, a class D felony, is the taking of property or service of more than $1,000 (CGS § 53a-124).

COMMITTEE ACTION

General Law Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute