House Study Bill 705 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT) A BILL FOR An Act establishing the criminal offense of organized retail 1 theft, providing penalties, and including effective date 2 provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 6329YC (1) 90 as/js
H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 714.2B Organized retail theft. 1 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise 2 requires: 3 a. Pattern of retail theft means acts committed or 4 directed by a person on at least two separate occasions in the 5 preceding six months that would constitute a violation of any 6 of the following: 7 (1) Burglary under section 713.1 when the structure is a 8 retail establishment. 9 (2) Theft under section 714.1, subsection 1, 3, 4, or 6, 10 involving retail merchandise. 11 (3) A violation of section 714.7B concerning theft 12 detection devices. 13 (4) Theft of pseudoephedrine, under section 714.7C, from a 14 retail establishment. 15 b. Retail establishment means the building where a 16 retailer sells retail merchandise. 17 c. Retail merchandise means all forms of tangible property 18 held out for sale by a retailer. 19 d. Retail theft enterprise means a group of two or more 20 individuals with a shared goal involving the unauthorized 21 removal of retail merchandise from a retailer. Retail theft 22 enterprise does not require the membership of the enterprise 23 to remain the same or that the same individuals participate in 24 each offense committed by the enterprise. 25 e. Retailer means a person or entity that sells retail 26 merchandise. 27 f. Value means the same as provided in section 714.3. 28 2. A person commits organized retail theft when all of the 29 following occur: 30 a. The person is employed by or associated with a retail 31 theft enterprise. 32 b. The person has previously engaged in a pattern of 33 retail theft and intentionally commits an act or directs 34 another member of the retail theft enterprise to commit an act 35 -1- LSB 6329YC (1) 90 as/js 1/ 5
H.F. _____ involving retail merchandise that is a violation of section 1 713.1, section 714.1, subsection 1, 3, 4, or 6, section 714.7B, 2 or section 714.7C. 3 c. The person or another member of the retail theft 4 enterprise sells or intends to sell the stolen retail 5 merchandise, advertises or displays any item of the stolen 6 retail merchandise for sale, or returns any item of the stolen 7 retail merchandise to a retailer for anything of value. 8 3. A person who commits organized retail theft is guilty of 9 the following: 10 a. A class C felony if the value of the property stolen 11 exceeds five thousand dollars. 12 b. A class D felony if either of the following 13 circumstances exists: 14 (1) The value of the property stolen is more than one 15 thousand dollars but not more than five thousand dollars. 16 (2) The value of the property is more than five hundred 17 dollars but not more than one thousand dollars and the person 18 has been convicted at least twice before for a violation of 19 this section, section 713.1, section 714.1, subsection 1, 3, 20 4, or 6, section 714.7B, or section 714.7C, or a statute from 21 another state, the United States, or a foreign jurisdiction, in 22 conformity with any of those sections, and the person received 23 a felony or an aggravated misdemeanor sentence for the offense, 24 and at least two of the prior convictions occurred in the 25 previous ten years. 26 c. An aggravated misdemeanor if either of the following 27 circumstances exist: 28 (1) The value of the property stolen is more than five 29 hundred dollars but not more than one thousand dollars. 30 (2) The value of the property is five hundred dollars 31 or less and the person commits the offense within ten years 32 of a previous conviction under this section, section 713.1, 33 section 714.1, subsection 1, 3, 4, or 6, section 714.7B, or 34 section 714.7C, or a statute from another state, the United 35 -2- LSB 6329YC (1) 90 as/js 2/ 5
H.F. _____ States, or a foreign jurisdiction, in conformity with any of 1 those sections, and the person received a felony or aggravated 2 misdemeanor sentence for the offense. 3 d. A serious misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen 4 is five hundred dollars or less. 5 4. The value of the retail merchandise received by the 6 defendant in violation of this section within any six-month 7 period may be aggregated and the defendant charged accordingly 8 in applying the provisions of this subdivision, provided that 9 when two or more offenses are committed by the same person in 10 two or more counties, the accused may be prosecuted in any 11 county in which one of the offenses was committed for all of 12 the offenses aggregated under this subdivision. 13 5. If a violation of this section creates a reasonably 14 foreseeable risk of bodily harm to another, the penalties 15 described in subsection 3 are enhanced as follows: 16 a. If the penalty is a serious misdemeanor or an aggravated 17 misdemeanor, the offense shall be classified and punished as an 18 offense one degree higher than the underlying offense. 19 b. If the penalty is a felony, the offense shall be 20 classified and punished as an offense one degree higher than 21 the underlying offense. 22 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 23 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 24 EXPLANATION 25 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 26 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 27 This bill establishes the criminal offense of organized 28 retail theft. 29 The bill defines a pattern of retail theft to mean acts 30 committed or directed by a person on at least two separate 31 occasions in the preceding six months that would constitute a 32 violation of any of the following: burglary under Code section 33 713.1 when the building is a retail establishment, theft under 34 Code section 714.1, subsection 1, 3, 4, or 6, involving retail 35 -3- LSB 6329YC (1) 90 as/js 3/ 5
H.F. _____ merchandise, a violation of Code section 714.7B concerning 1 theft detection devices, and theft of pseudoephedrine, under 2 Code section 714.7C, from a retail establishment. The bill 3 defines retail theft enterprise to mean a group of two or 4 more individuals with a shared goal involving the unauthorized 5 removal of retail merchandise from a retailer. Retail theft 6 enterprise does not require the membership of the enterprise 7 to remain the same or that the same individuals participate 8 in each offense committed by the enterprise. The bill 9 also defines retail establishment, retail merchandise, 10 retailer, and value. 11 The bill provides that a person commits organized retail 12 theft when all of the following occur: the person is employed 13 by or associated with a retail theft enterprise; the person 14 has previously engaged in a pattern of retail theft and 15 intentionally commits an act or directs another member of the 16 retail theft enterprise to commit an act involving retail 17 merchandise that is a violation of Code section 713.1, Code 18 section 714.1, subsection 1, 3, 4, or 6, Code section 714.7B, 19 or Code section 714.7C; and the person or another member of the 20 retail theft enterprise sells or intends to sell the stolen 21 retail merchandise, advertises or displays any item of the 22 stolen retail merchandise for sale, or returns any item of the 23 stolen retail merchandise to a retailer for anything of value. 24 The bill provides that a person who commits organized retail 25 theft is guilty of the following: a class C felony if the 26 value of the property stolen exceeds $5,000; a class D felony 27 if either the value of the property stolen is more than $1,000 28 but not more than $5,000, or the value of the property is more 29 than $500 but not more than $1,000 and the person has been 30 convicted at least twice before for a violation of the bill or 31 one of the other qualifying offenses, the person received a 32 felony or an aggravated misdemeanor sentence for the offense, 33 and at least two of the prior convictions occurred in the 34 previous 10 years; an aggravated misdemeanor if either the 35 -4- LSB 6329YC (1) 90 as/js 4/ 5
H.F. _____ value of the property stolen is more than $500 but not more 1 than $1,000, or the value of the property is $500 or less and 2 the person commits the offense within 10 years of a previous 3 conviction under the bill or one of the other qualifying 4 offenses and the person received a felony or aggravated 5 misdemeanor sentence for the offense; or a serious misdemeanor 6 if the value of the property stolen is $500 or less. 7 The bill provides that the value of the retail merchandise 8 received by the defendant in violation of the bill within any 9 six-month period may be aggregated and the defendant charged 10 accordingly. 11 The bill provides that if a violation of the bill creates 12 a reasonably foreseeable risk of bodily harm to another, the 13 penalties described in the bill are enhanced as follows: 14 if the penalty is a serious misdemeanor or an aggravated 15 misdemeanor, the offense shall be classified and punished as 16 an offense one degree higher than the underlying offense; if 17 the penalty is a felony, the offense shall be classified and 18 punished as an offense one degree higher than the underlying 19 offense. 20 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 21 -5- LSB 6329YC (1) 90 as/js 5/ 5