Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4779 by Bhojani (Relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of organized retail theft.), As Engrossed
The bill would limit the conduct constituting the offense of organized retail theft by requiring that the total value of the merchandise be at least $100 and that the act be committed with the intent to support, facilitate, or engage in the acquisition of stolen retail merchandise and the redistribution of that merchandise into the supply chain.
Reducing the applicability of an existing criminal offense may result in a decrease in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible decrease in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 144 individuals arrested, 40 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 9 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, 2 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution, and no individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for organized retail theft.
It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.