This bill amends section 28-101 of the Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, to introduce new provisions aimed at prohibiting organized retail crimes in Nebraska. It defines key terms such as "organized retail crime," "retail merchandise," and "aggregated retail market value," and outlines specific actions that constitute the offense of organized retail crime. These actions include knowingly committing organized retail crime, managing or assisting others in such crimes, and possessing stolen retail merchandise. The bill establishes penalties based on the aggregated retail market value of the merchandise involved, categorizing offenses as Class IIA felonies, Class IV felonies, or Class I misdemeanors, depending on the value.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that prior convictions can enhance penalties for repeat offenders and specifies that the aggregated value of stolen merchandise can be combined for prosecution purposes. It also states that it is not a valid defense if the merchandise was not stolen at the time of the violation, provided it was represented as stolen. The original section 28-101 is repealed to accommodate these changes, and new sections 2 to 5 are added to the Nebraska Criminal Code to enforce these provisions.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 28-101