Bill
HB 34
Creates a standalone crime of larceny of mail with penalties rising by value and prior offenses for stealing or unlawfully taking mail or packages.
Status & Timing
- Introduced in 2025. Under the version analyzed, the bill takes effect December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date (i.e., prospective application).
Purpose / Intent
- To create a distinct criminal offense of "larceny of mail" under Chapter 14 (Crimes and Offenses) to address theft or unlawful control of letters, packages, bags, or other items of value sent or delivered to another person. The statute is intended to clarify elements of the offense and prescribe graduated penalties tied to value and repeat offending.
Key Definitions
- Mail: Defined broadly to mean “a letter, package, bag, or other item of value sent or delivered to another.” (The bill language includes items delivered by any method of delivery, including common carriers and commercial delivery services in some substitute language.)
Elements of the Offense (§ 14‑72.10)
A person is guilty of larceny of mail if the person either:
1. Unlawfully takes or exercises unlawful control over another person’s mail with intent to deprive that person of it; or
2. Unlawfully transfers or exercises unlawful control over another person’s mail (or an interest in it) with intent to benefit the person or someone not entitled to it.
Penalties (graduated by value and prior convictions)
- First offense, value less than $200: Class A1 misdemeanor.
- Second offense, value less than $200: Class G felony.
- First or second offense, value $200 or more: Class E felony.
- Third or subsequent offense, or value exceeding $2,000: Class D felony.
- The bill includes a proviso that where another law provides greater punishment, that law controls.
Who or What Is Affected
- Persons who steal or exercise unlawful control over mail (including intercepted packages and letters).
- Victims: private individuals, businesses, and entities that send/receive mail and packages.
- Delivery-service employees and common-carrier shipments may also be implicated when mail is taken unlawfully.
- Criminal justice system actors: law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and corrections (possible additional prosecutions, convictions, and custody terms depending on enforcement).
Procedural / Fiscal Notes
- The statute is prospective (applies to offenses committed on or after the effective date).
- The bill’s penalties (misdemeanor and felony classes) may increase criminal cases, prosecutions, and potential incarcerations; fiscal effects (court, prosecutor, jail/prison costs) will depend on enforcement volume and are not quantified in the bill text.
- The text contains a savings clause that a greater penalty under other law supersedes this statute.
Related / Alternate Versions
- A committee substitute (edition 2) explored an alternate approach that would increase sentencing by one class level for larceny when the object stolen is mail. (That appears as an alternative amendment/approach considered.)
Practical Effect
- Creates a clear, stand‑alone state offense aimed at theft/interception of mail and packages with graduated penalties tied to value and recidivism. The statute supplements existing state and federal laws addressing mail theft; prosecutors may charge this offense where appropriate, subject to the higher‑penalty caveat for overlapping statutes.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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