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A1, R5, H3523

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. J.E. Johnson, W. Newton, Robbins, Mitchell, Pedalino, Taylor, Long, Bailey, Calhoon, Yow, Weeks, Erickson, Bradley, Hager, Whitmire, Hixon, Cromer, Gilreath, Oremus and Hartz
Companion/Similar bill(s): 159
Document Path: LC-0071AHB25.docx

Introduced in the House on January 14, 2025
Introduced in the Senate on February 18, 2025
Last Amended on February 25, 2025
Currently residing in the Senate
Governor's Action: March 7, 2025, Signed

Summary: Organized Retail Crime

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date	Body	Action Description with journal page number
12/5/2024	House	Prefiled
12/5/2024	House	Referred to Committee on Judiciary
1/14/2025	House	Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 233)
1/14/2025	House	Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 233)
1/29/2025	House	Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bailey
2/5/2025	House	Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Calhoon
2/6/2025	House	Committee report: Favorable Judiciary (House Journal-page 6)
2/12/2025	House	Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Yow, Weeks, Erickson, Bradley, Hager, Whitmire
2/12/2025	House	Debate adjourned until Thur., 2-13-25 (House Journal-page 41)
2/13/2025	House	Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Hixon, Cromer, Gilreath, Oremus, Hartz
2/13/2025	House	Read second time (House Journal-page 16)
2/13/2025	House	Roll call Yeas-101 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 16)
2/13/2025	House	Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative day (House Journal-page 18)
2/18/2025	Senate	Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 13)
2/18/2025	Senate	Referred to Committee on Judiciary (Senate Journal-page 13)
2/19/2025	Senate	Recalled from Committee on Judiciary (Senate Journal-page 4)
2/19/2025		Scrivener's error corrected
2/25/2025	Senate	Amended (Senate Journal-page 27)
2/25/2025	Senate	Read second time (Senate Journal-page 27)
2/25/2025	Senate	Roll call Ayes-43 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 27)
2/26/2025	Senate	Read third time and returned to House with amendments (Senate Journal-page 21)
2/27/2025	House	Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled (House Journal-page 35)
2/27/2025	House	Roll call Yeas-107 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 36)
3/6/2025		Ratified R 5
3/7/2025		Signed By Governor
3/12/2025		Effective date 03/07/25
3/12/2025		Act No. 1

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/05/2024
02/06/2025
02/19/2025
02/25/2025
02/25/2025-A

NOTE: THIS IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

(A1, R5, H3523)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-13-135, RELATING TO THE OFFENSE OF RETAIL THEFT AND ASSOCIATED PENALTIES, SO AS TO REVISE NECESSARY DEFINITIONS, TO REVISE THE PREVIOUS OFFENSE OF RETAIL THEFT, TO CREATE THE OFFENSES OF ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME AND ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME OF AN AGGRAVATED NATURE, AND TO PROVIDE A GRADUATED PENALTY STRUCTURE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Organized retail crime, and organized retail crime of an aggravated nature

SECTION 1.    Section 16-13-135 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 16-13-135.    (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Organized retail crime" means two or more people conspiring to commit theft of retail property from a retail establishment with the intent to sell, barter, exchange, or reenter such retail property into commerce for monetary or other gain.

(2) "Retail property" means an article, merchandise, property, money or negotiable documents including gift cards or other forms of credit, products, commodities, items, or components intended to be sold in retail commerce.

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

(4) "Theft" means to take possession of, carry away, transfer, or cause to be carried away the retail property of another with the intent to deprive the merchant of the possession, use, benefit, and value of the retail property.

(5) "Value" means the retail value of an item as offered for sale to the public by the affected retail establishment and includes all applicable taxes.

(B) It is unlawful for a person to:

(1) commit organized retail crime, with a value exceeding two thousand dollars aggregated over a ninety-day period, with the intent to cause the retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person in exchange for consideration; or

(2) receive, possess, or sell retail property that has been taken or stolen in violation of item (1) while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe the property is stolen. A person is guilty of this offense whether or not anyone is convicted of the property theft.

(C) Acts committed in different counties that have been aggregated in one count may be indicted and prosecuted in any one of the counties in which the acts occurred. In a prosecution for a violation of this section, the State is not required to establish and it is not a defense that some of the acts constituting the crime did not occur within one city, county, or local jurisdiction. However, nothing in this subsection may be interpreted to allow a circuit solicitor or persons in the circuit solicitor's employ to prosecute cases outside of the circuit where the circuit solicitor was elected without the consent of the Attorney General.

(D) Property, funds, and interest a person has acquired or maintained in violation of this section are subject to forfeiture pursuant to the procedures for forfeiture as provided in Section 44-53-530.

(E) A person who violates this section commits the offense of organized retail crime, and:

(1) for a first offense:

(a) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than three years, or both, if the value of the retail property is more than two thousand dollars but less than ten thousand dollars;

(b) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both, if the value of the retail property is more than ten thousand dollars but less than twenty thousand dollars;

(c) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both, if the value of the retail property is more than twenty thousand dollars but less than fifty thousand dollars;

(d) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than twenty years, or both, if the value of the retail property is more than fifty thousand dollars;

(2) for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, regardless of the value of the retail property in any offense, must be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than twenty years, or both;

(3) for purposes of this section, multiple offenses occurring within a ninety-day period may be aggregated into a single count with the aggregated value used to determine the total value of the property;

(4) organized retail crime is a lesser-included offense of organized retail crime of an aggravated nature as provided in subsection (F).

(F)(1) A person commits the offense of organized retail crime of an aggravated nature if, while committing the offense of organized retail crime, the person wilfully and maliciously:

(a) damages, destroys, or defaces real or personal property in excess of two thousand dollars; or

(b) causes moderate bodily injury or great bodily injury to another person. "Moderate bodily injury" and "great bodily injury" have the same meanings as defined in Section 16-3-600.

(2) A person convicted of organized retail crime of an aggravated nature is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than fifteen years, or both.

Savings clause

SECTION 2.    The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.

Time effective

SECTION 3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 6th day of March, 2025.

Approved the 7th day of March, 2025.

This web page was last updated on March 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM