SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 1 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 SENATE FLOOR VERSION April 22, 2025 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1592 By: George, Turner, Cantrell, and Wolfley of the House and Weaver and Hamilton of the Senate An Act relating to larceny; providing elements of organized retail crime; providing penalties; amending 21 O.S. 2021, Section 425, which relates to patterns of criminal offenses; expanding scope of offense; amending 21 O.S. 2021, Section 792, which relates to robbery; deleting exception; amending Section 1, Chapter 333, O.S.L. 2023 (21 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 2200), which relates to the Oklahoma Organized Retail Crime Task Force; recreating task force; providing for the continuation of appointment selectio ns; authorizing the Office of the Attorney General to staff the task force and employ task force officers; stating duties of officers; updating statutory language; updating statutory references; providing for codification; and providing an effective date. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1731.2 of Title 21, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 2 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A. Actions relating to theft, retail theft, or la rceny shall be sufficient to constitute organized retail crime when two or more of the following circumstances occur : 1. The property taken is intended for resale; 2. Such property is taken by tw o or more persons acting jointly; 3. The persons taking th e property do so while possessing tools of theft including, but not limited to, tag cutters, foil -lined bags, weapons, or other means of evading detection; 4. The persons taking the property attempt to exit through fire escapes, employee exits, or other n on-public means of entry or exit; 5. The persons taking such property remove, destroy, deactivate, or knowingly evade any component of an anti -shoplifting or inventory control device to prevent th e activation of that device or to facilitate another person in committing retail crime; 6. A person receives, purchases, or possesses retail merchandise for sale or resale knowing or believing the retail merchandise was stolen from a retail merchant; 7. The persons use a getaway driver or the motor vehicle of another person or a rented or stolen motor vehicle when committing retail crime; or 8. The persons use a paper, fraudulent, altered, or obstructed license plate, use a license plate meant for a diff erent vehicle, or do not have any license plate. SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 3 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 B. Any person found to be in v iolation of this section shall be punished as follows: 1. In the event the value of the property is less than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corr ections for a term not to exceed five (5) years or in the county jail for a term not to exceed one (1) year, or by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such imprisonmen t and fine; or 2. If the value of the property is Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) or more, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed eight (8) years, or by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such impri sonment and fine. C. The person shall also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim as provided in Section 991f of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes. SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 425, is amended to read as follo ws: Section 425. A. Any person who engages in a pattern of criminal offenses in two or more counties or municipalities in this state or who attempts or conspires with others to engage in a pattern of criminal offenses shall, upon conviction, be punishable punished by imprisonment in the Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding two (2) years, or imprisonment in the county jail for SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 4 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 a term not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine in an amount not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. Such punishment shall be in addition to any penalty imposed for any offense involved in the pattern of criminal offenses. Double jeopardy shall attach upon conviction. B. For purposes of this act this section and Section 125.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes , “pattern of criminal offenses ” means: 1. Two or more criminal offenses are committed that are part of the same plan, scheme, or adventure; or 2. A sequence of two or more of the same criminal offenses a re committed and are not separated by an interval of more than thirty (30) days between the first and second offense, the second and third, and so on; or 3. Two or more criminal offenses are committed, each proceeding from or having as an antecedent eleme nt a single prior incident or pattern of fraud, robbery, burglary, theft, identity theft, receipt of stolen property, false personation, false pretenses, obtaining property by trick or deception, t aking a credit or debit card without consent, or the making , transferring, or receiving of a false or fraudulent identification card. C. Jurisdiction and venue for a pattern of criminal offenses occurring in multiple counties in this state shall be determined as SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 5 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 provided in Section 1 125.1 of this act Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes. SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 792, is amended to read as follows: Section 792. To constitute robbery, the force or fear must be employed either to obtain or retain possession of the property, or to prevent or overcome resistance to the taking. If employed merely as a means of escape, it does not constitute robbery. SECTION 4. AMENDATORY Section 1, Chapter 333, O.S.L. 2023 (21 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 2200), is amende d to read as follows: Section 2200. A. There is hereby created recreated, to continue until June 1, 2026, the Oklahoma Organized Retail Crime Task Force until December 31, 2024 . The purpose of the task force shall be to provide the Legislature and the G overnor with information on organized retail crime and the advantages and drawbacks of instituting various countermeasures to counter losses from retail theft in the state. B. The task force shall consist of fifteen (15) members as follows: 1. Three members, appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be an individual who represents state or local law enforcement; 2. Two members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate; SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 6 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 3. Two members appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives; 4. One member appointed by the District Attorneys Council; 5. One member appointed by the Oklahoma Retail Merchants Association; 6. One member appointed by the State Chamber; 7. One member appointed by the Oklahoma Sheriffs ’ Association; 8. One member appointed by the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police; 9. One member appointed by the Attorney General; 10. One member from the Convenience Distributors of Oklahoma ; and 11. One member from the Oklahoma Grocers Association . C. Quorum for official business of the task force shall be eight members. A chairperson and a vice chairperson shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the task force. D. Appointments to Members who were serving on the task force as of December 31, 2024, shall automatically be made by the appointing authority no later than sixty (60) days after the effective date of this act on the Oklahoma Organized Retail Crime Task Force. Appointed members shall, to the greatest extent practicable, have by education or experience, knowledge of organized retail theft. The chair shall hold the first meeting of the task force no later than ninety (90) days after the effective date of SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 7 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 this act June 6, 2023. Any vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner provided for in the initial appointment. E. The members of the task force shall receive no compensation but shall receive travel reimbursement for necessary tr avel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties i n accordance with the State Travel Reimbursement Act. The task force shall be staffed by the Senate Office of the Attorney General . F. The task force may consult with any organization, government entity, or person in the development of its report require d pursuant to the provisions of subsection G of this section. G. On or before December 15, 2024 December 31, 2025, the task force shall electronically submit to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, the Oklahoma Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the House and Senate committees that oversee public safety, a report containing, but not limited to, the following information based on available data: 1. A review of laws and regulations on organized retail crime used by other states, the federal government, and foreign countries to regulate the marketplace; 2. The use of organized retail theft ’s impact on state and local tax receipts; 3. The need for interagency coordination of public education and outreach and prevention programs for business owners; and SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB1592 SFLR Page 8 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 4. Legislative and regulatory recommendations, if any, to increase transparency and security, enhance consumer protections, prevent organized retail theft, and to address the long -term economic impact related to the prevalence of organized retail crime. H. The Office of the Attorney General may employ, either directly or through memorandums of understanding or cross - deputization agreements, perso ns to serve as Oklahoma Organized Retail Crime Task Force o fficers whose primary responsibility shall be to prevent, respond to, investigate, and prosecute criminal violations related to organized retail crime. SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025. COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COM MITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY April 22, 2025 - DO PASS AS AMENDED BY CS