Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 824
       
       
        
       By Senator Ingoglia
       
       
       
       
       
       11-01052-24                                            2024824__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to retail theft; amending s. 812.015,
       F.S.; defining the term “social media platform”;
       revising the minimum number of thefts required within
       a specified aggregation period required to commit a
       specified violation for retail theft; prohibiting a
       person from committing retail theft with a specified
       number of other persons for a specified purpose;
       providing criminal penalties; revising the number of
       thefts required within a specified aggregation period
       required to commit a specified violation for retail
       theft; prohibiting a person from committing retail
       theft with a specific number of other persons for a
       specified purpose when such person uses a social media
       platform to solicit the participation of other
       persons; providing criminal penalties; requiring a
       court to order a person convicted of retail theft to
       pay specified restitution; amending s. 784.07, F.S.;
       correcting a cross-reference; amending s. 921.0022,
       F.S.; ranking offenses on the offense severity ranking
       chart of the Criminal Punishment Code; providing an
       effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1. Present subsection (11) of section 812.015,
Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (12), subsection
(1) is amended, paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (8) and
paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (9) are amended, paragraph
(g) is added to subsection (8) and paragraph (e) is added to
subsection (9), and a new subsection (11) is added to that
section, to read:
       812.015 Retail and farm theft; transit fare evasion;
mandatory fine; alternative punishment; detention and arrest;
exemption from liability for false arrest; resisting arrest;
penalties.—
       (1) As used in this section, the term:
       (g)(a) “Merchandise” means any personal property, capable
of manual delivery, displayed, held, or offered for retail sale
by a merchant.
       (h)(b) “Merchant” means an owner or operator, or the agent,
consignee, employee, lessee, or officer of an owner or operator,
of any premises or apparatus used for retail purchase or sale of
any merchandise.
       (n)(c) “Value of merchandise” means the sale price of the
merchandise at the time it was stolen or otherwise removed,
depriving the owner of her or his lawful right to ownership and
sale of said item.
       (i)(d) “Retail theft” means the taking possession of or
carrying away of merchandise, property, money, or negotiable
documents; altering or removing a label, universal product code,
or price tag; transferring merchandise from one container to
another; or removing a shopping cart, with intent to deprive the
merchant of possession, use, benefit, or full retail value.
       (d)(e) “Farm produce” means livestock or any item grown,
produced, or manufactured by a person owning, renting, or
leasing land for the purpose of growing, producing, or
manufacturing items for sale or personal use, either part time
or full time.
       (c)(f) “Farmer” means a person who is engaging in the
growing or producing of farm produce, milk products, honey,
eggs, or meat, either part time or full time, for personal
consumption or for sale and who is the owner or lessee of the
land or a person designated in writing by the owner or lessee to
act as her or his agent. No person defined as a farm labor
contractor pursuant to s. 450.28 shall be designated to act as
an agent for purposes of this section.
       (e)(g) “Farm theft” means the unlawful taking possession of
any items that are grown or produced on land owned, rented, or
leased by another person. The term includes the unlawful taking
possession of equipment and associated materials used to grow or
produce farm products as defined in s. 823.14(3)(e).
       (a)(h) “Antishoplifting or inventory control device” means
a mechanism or other device designed and operated for the
purpose of detecting the removal from a mercantile establishment
or similar enclosure, or from a protected area within such an
enclosure, of specially marked or tagged merchandise. The term
includes any electronic or digital imaging or any video
recording or other film used for security purposes and the cash
register tape or other record made of the register receipt.
       (b)(i) “Antishoplifting or inventory control device
countermeasure” means any item or device which is designed,
manufactured, modified, or altered to defeat any antishoplifting
or inventory control device.
       (l)(j) “Transit fare evasion” means the unlawful refusal to
pay the appropriate fare for transportation upon a mass transit
vehicle, or to evade the payment of such fare, or to enter any
mass transit vehicle or facility by any door, passageway, or
gate, except as provided for the entry of fare-paying
passengers, and shall constitute petit theft as proscribed by
this chapter.
       (f)(k) “Mass transit vehicle” means buses, rail cars, or
fixed-guideway mover systems operated by, or under contract to,
state agencies, political subdivisions of the state, or
municipalities for the transportation of fare-paying passengers.
       (k)(l) “Transit agency” means any state agency, political
subdivision of the state, or municipality which operates mass
transit vehicles.
       (m) “Trespass” means the violation as described in s.
810.08.
       (j) “Social media platform” has the same meaning as in s.
501.2041(1).
       (8) Except as provided in subsection (9), a person who
commits retail theft commits a felony of the third degree,
punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084,
if the person:
       (e) Commits the offense through the purchase of merchandise
in a package or box that contains merchandise other than, or in
addition to, the merchandise purported to be contained in the
package or box and such value is $750 or more; or
       (f) Individually, or in concert with 1 or more other
persons, commits 3 5 or more retail thefts within a 365-day 30
day period and in committing such thefts obtains or uses 10 or
more items of merchandise, and the number of items stolen during
each theft is aggregated within the 365-day 30-day period to
determine the total number of items stolen, regardless of the
value of such merchandise, and 2 or more of the thefts occur at
different physical merchant locations; or
       (g) Acts in concert with five or more other persons within
one or more establishments for the purpose of overwhelming the
response of a merchant, a merchant’s employee, or a law
enforcement officer in order to carry out the offense or avoid
detection or apprehension for the offense.
       (9) A person commits a felony of the second degree,
punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084,
if the person:
       (c) Conspires with another person to commit retail theft
with the intent to sell the stolen property for monetary or
other gain, and subsequently takes or causes such property to be
placed in control of another person in exchange for
consideration, in which the stolen property taken or placed
within a 30-day period is aggregated to have a value in excess
of $3,000; or
       (d) Individually, or in concert with 1 or more other
persons, commits 3 5 or more retail thefts within a 365-day 30
day period and in committing such thefts obtains or uses 20 or
more items of merchandise, and the number of items stolen during
each theft is aggregated within the 365-day 30-day period to
determine the total number of items stolen, regardless of the
value of such merchandise, and 2 or more of the thefts occur at
a different physical retail merchant location; or
       (e) Acts in concert with five or more other persons within
one or more establishments for the purpose of overwhelming the
response of a merchant, a merchant’s employee, or a law
enforcement officer in order to carry out the offense or avoid
detection or apprehension for the offense and, in the course of
organizing or committing the offense, solicits the participation
of another person in the offense through the use of a social
media platform.
       (11) A court must order a person convicted of violating
this section to pay restitution, which must include the value of
merchandise that was damaged or stolen and the cost of repairing
or replacing any other property that was damaged in the course
of committing the offense.
       Section 2. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section
784.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       784.07 Assault or battery of law enforcement officers and
other specified personnel; reclassification of offenses; minimum
sentences.—
       (1) As used in this section, the term:
       (f) “Public transit employees or agents” means bus
operators, train operators, revenue collectors, security
personnel, equipment maintenance personnel, or field
supervisors, who are employees or agents of a transit agency as
described in s. 812.015(1) s. 812.015(1)(l).
       Section 3. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (3) of
section 921.0022, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
       921.0022 Criminal Punishment Code; offense severity ranking
chart.—
       (3) OFFENSE SEVERITY RANKING CHART
       (e) LEVEL 5

FloridaStatute    FelonyDegree           Description            
316.027(2)(a)        3rd   Accidents involving personal injuries other than serious bodily injury, failure to stop; leaving scene.
316.1935(4)(a)       2nd   Aggravated fleeing or eluding.    
316.80(2)            2nd   Unlawful conveyance of fuel; obtaining fuel fraudulently.
322.34(6)            3rd   Careless operation of motor vehicle with suspended license, resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
327.30(5)            3rd   Vessel accidents involving personal injury; leaving scene.
379.365(2)(c)1.      3rd   Violation of rules relating to: willful molestation of stone crab traps, lines, or buoys; illegal bartering, trading, or sale, conspiring or aiding in such barter, trade, or sale, or supplying, agreeing to supply, aiding in supplying, or giving away stone crab trap tags or certificates; making, altering, forging, counterfeiting, or reproducing stone crab trap tags; possession of forged, counterfeit, or imitation stone crab trap tags; and engaging in the commercial harvest of stone crabs while license is suspended or revoked.
379.367(4)           3rd   Willful molestation of a commercial harvester’s spiny lobster trap, line, or buoy.
379.407(5)(b)3.      3rd   Possession of 100 or more undersized spiny lobsters.
381.0041(11)(b)      3rd   Donate blood, plasma, or organs knowing HIV positive.
440.10(1)(g)         2nd   Failure to obtain workers’ compensation coverage.
440.105(5)           2nd   Unlawful solicitation for the purpose of making workers’ compensation claims.
440.381(2)           3rd   Submission of false, misleading, or incomplete information with the purpose of avoiding or reducing workers’ compensation premiums.
624.401(4)(b)2.      2nd   Transacting insurance without a certificate or authority; premium collected $20,000 or more but less than $100,000.
626.902(1)(c)        2nd   Representing an unauthorized insurer; repeat offender.
790.01(3)            3rd   Unlawful carrying of a concealed firearm.
790.162              2nd   Threat to throw or discharge destructive device.
790.163(1)           2nd   False report of bomb, explosive, weapon of mass destruction, or use of firearms in violent manner.
790.221(1)           2nd   Possession of short-barreled shotgun or machine gun.
790.23               2nd   Felons in possession of firearms, ammunition, or electronic weapons or devices.
796.05(1)            2nd   Live on earnings of a prostitute; 1st offense.
800.04(6)(c)         3rd   Lewd or lascivious conduct; offender less than 18 years of age.
800.04(7)(b)         2nd   Lewd or lascivious exhibition; offender 18 years of age or older.
806.111(1)           3rd   Possess, manufacture, or dispense fire bomb with intent to damage any structure or property.
812.0145(2)(b)       2nd   Theft from person 65 years of age or older; $10,000 or more but less than $50,000.
812.015 (8)(a) & (c)-(e)   3rd   Retail theft; property stolen is valued at $750 or more and one or more specified acts.
812.015(8)(f)        3rd   Retail theft; multiple thefts within specified period.
812.015(8)(g)        3rd   Retail theft; committed with specified number of other persons.
812.019(1)           2nd   Stolen property; dealing in or trafficking in.
812.081(3)           2nd   Trafficking in trade secrets.     
812.131(2)(b)        3rd   Robbery by sudden snatching.      
812.16(2)            3rd   Owning, operating, or conducting a chop shop.
817.034(4)(a)2.      2nd   Communications fraud, value $20,000 to $50,000.
817.234(11)(b)       2nd   Insurance fraud; property value $20,000 or more but less than $100,000.
817.2341(1), (2)(a) & (3)(a)   3rd   Filing false financial statements, making false entries of material fact or false statements regarding property values relating to the solvency of an insuring entity.
817.568(2)(b)        2nd   Fraudulent use of personal identification information; value of benefit, services received, payment avoided, or amount of injury or fraud, $5,000 or more or use of personal identification information of 10 or more persons.
817.611(2)(a)        2nd   Traffic in or possess 5 to 14 counterfeit credit cards or related documents.
817.625(2)(b)        2nd   Second or subsequent fraudulent use of scanning device, skimming device, or reencoder.
825.1025(4)          3rd   Lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of an elderly person or disabled adult.
827.071(4)           2nd   Possess with intent to promote any photographic material, motion picture, etc., which includes child pornography.
827.071(5)           3rd   Possess, control, or intentionally view any photographic material, motion picture, etc., which includes child pornography.
828.12(2)            3rd   Tortures any animal with intent to inflict intense pain, serious physical injury, or death.
836.14(4)            2nd   Person who willfully promotes for financial gain a sexually explicit image of an identifiable person without consent.
839.13(2)(b)         2nd   Falsifying records of an individual in the care and custody of a state agency involving great bodily harm or death.
843.01(1)            3rd   Resist officer with violence to person; resist arrest with violence.
847.0135(5)(b)       2nd   Lewd or lascivious exhibition using computer; offender 18 years or older.
847.0137 (2) & (3)   3rd   Transmission of pornography by electronic device or equipment.
847.0138 (2) & (3)   3rd   Transmission of material harmful to minors to a minor by electronic device or equipment.
874.05(1)(b)         2nd   Encouraging or recruiting another to join a criminal gang; second or subsequent offense.
874.05(2)(a)         2nd   Encouraging or recruiting person under 13 years of age to join a criminal gang.
893.13(1)(a)1.       2nd   Sell, manufacture, or deliver cocaine (or other s. 893.03(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), (2)(a), (2)(b), or (2)(c)5. drugs).
893.13(1)(c)2.       2nd   Sell, manufacture, or deliver cannabis (or other s. 893.03(1)(c), (2)(c)1., (2)(c)2., (2)(c)3., (2)(c)6., (2)(c)7., (2)(c)8., (2)(c)9., (2)(c)10., (3), or (4) drugs) within 1,000 feet of a child care facility, school, or state, county, or municipal park or publicly owned recreational facility or community center.
893.13(1)(d)1.       1st   Sell, manufacture, or deliver cocaine (or other s. 893.03(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), (2)(a), (2)(b), or (2)(c)5. drugs) within 1,000 feet of university.
893.13(1)(e)2.       2nd   Sell, manufacture, or deliver cannabis or other drug prohibited under s. 893.03(1)(c), (2)(c)1., (2)(c)2., (2)(c)3., (2)(c)6., (2)(c)7., (2)(c)8., (2)(c)9., (2)(c)10., (3), or (4) within 1,000 feet of property used for religious services or a specified business site.
893.13(1)(f)1.       1st   Sell, manufacture, or deliver cocaine (or other s. 893.03(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), or (2)(a), (2)(b), or (2)(c)5. drugs) within 1,000 feet of public housing facility.
893.13(4)(b)         2nd   Use or hire of minor; deliver to minor other controlled substance.
893.1351(1)          3rd   Ownership, lease, or rental for trafficking in or manufacturing of controlled substance.
       (f) LEVEL 6

FloridaStatute    FelonyDegree           Description            
316.027(2)(b)        2nd   Leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury.
316.193(2)