A proposal seeking harsher penalties for shoplifters has been held in the Senate.
The measure, S1446, expands the definition of burglary in the third degree to include entering or unlawfully remaining in an unauthorized area of a retail establishment or going out through the backdoor in possession of unpaid goods.
Third degree burglary is a class 4 felony, which carries a presumptive sentence of 2 1/2 years of imprisonment.
Critics called the measure too harsh. A Democratic senator said it could ruin the lives of young men and women who have committed a burglary for the first time. A Republican colleague pointed out that some pairs of jeans are now worth more than $100; stealing them would mean a felony record for a young person.
The debate, shortened by the offer to hold off voting on the bill, underscores the direction that the Legislature is taking to combat crime.
The measure is, in fact, only one of several proposals seeking longer jail terms or stiffer penalties for certain offenses. At least one proposal takes away the latitude of judges when imposing penalties by making jail time mandatory.
Sen. Richard Miranda, D-13, said the shoplifting bill is too severe, particularly on first-time shoplifters. He also said that under the bill, a person who goes out using the front door is only guilty of misdemeanor but becomes guilty of a felony if he uses the back door.
“There’s a double standard there,” he told colleagues, referring to S1446, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Gray, R-19.
Gray offered an amendment that lowers the penalty for exiting through the back door from a class 4 to a class 5 felony. But it also lowers the threshold to be charged with the act. The amendment says a person is guilty of felony for making off with goods worth $100 or more.
Miranda said the threshold is too low and the jump from $1,000, the threshold for misdemeanor, to $100 for felony is too big. He readied an amendment substituting Gray’s changes to the bill.
Under the changes proposed by the Democratic senator, a shoplifter is guilty of class 4 felony if that person has been previously convicted of crime in the theft category and the value of the goods is more than $2,000.
Miranda said while he understood what the retail industry wants accomplished, he is worried about the bill’s impact.
“I just think this is very harsh for first time offenders, and it ruins a young woman’s and young man’s life,” he said.
Sen. Robert Blendu, R-12, pointed out that some pairs of jeans now cost more than $100.
If a young man walks out of the store without paying for that pair of jeans, he would end up with a felony record, something that is far more serious than a traffic citation, according to him.
“I respectfully disagree with what the industry wants,” he told colleagues. “And I just think that life is not that perfect. We all have made mistakes, so I’m hoping we can work through this.”
While vigorously defending his bill, Gray said he is willing to work with those who have raised concerns about the bill. He pointed out that his amendment already addresses one point raised by another colleague.
Adopting the Miranda amendment would obliterate that, he said.
“We changed it from a class 4 felony, which is what the industry wanted, back to a class 5,” he said.
“And so the issue is when you go into a store and you take arms full of clothes and a shopping cart is in your arms and you ran out the backdoor, that’s more than a simple shoplifting, and that’s what this is trying to address,” he said.
The monetary threshold is something that could be negotiated, he added.