Bill
H 3523
South Carolina creates organized retail crime offenses with 90-day aggregation, countywide venue, and graduated penalties up to 20 years and fines to deter coordinated theft rings.
Status and key dates
- Bill enacted as Act No. 1; signed by the Governor on March 7, 2025; effective March 7, 2025.
- Referred to Judiciary Committee, reported favorably, passed largely unanimously in the General Assembly. (Multiple readings and amendments in Feb–Mar 2025.)
Purpose and intent
- To revise South Carolina’s retail-theft statute (S.C. Code §16-13-135) by creating distinct offenses for “organized retail crime” and “organized retail crime of an aggravated nature,” clarifying definitions, allowing aggregation of multiple incidents, establishing forfeiture authority, and setting a graduated penalty structure aimed at addressing coordinated theft rings and resale/fencing operations.
Definitions and scope
- “Organized retail crime”: two or more people conspiring to steal retail property from a retail establishment with the intent to sell, barter, exchange, or reenter the property into commerce for monetary or other gain.
- “Retail property”: explicitly includes articles, merchandise, money, negotiable instruments, gift cards, or other forms of credit intended for retail sale.
- “Retail property fence”: person or business that knowingly buys retail property believed to be stolen.
- “Theft” and “value” defined; value is retail value as offered to the public (including taxes).
Key substantive provisions
- Prohibited conduct: (a) committing theft as part of organized retail crime; (b) conspiring to commit such theft; (c) receiving, possessing, or selling stolen retail property while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe it is stolen. A person can be culpable for possession even if no one has been convicted of the underlying theft.
- Aggregation: multiple thefts occurring within a 90‑day window may be aggregated into a single count and the aggregated value used to determine penalties. Acts occurring in different counties may be indicted in any one of those counties (with limits on prosecutorial venue/practice).
- Forfeiture: property, funds, or interests acquired or maintained in violation of the section are subject to forfeiture per existing forfeiture procedures (Section 44‑53‑530).
- Municipal penalties: the act does not preclude local ordinances or other local enforcement tools.
Penalty structure
- Graduated penalties tied to aggregated retail value for a first offense:
- > $2,000 – < $10,000: misdemeanor — up to $5,000 fine and/or up to 3 years imprisonment.
- ≥ $10,000 – < $20,000: felony — up to $10,000 fine and/or up to 5 years.
- ≥ $20,000 – < $50,000: felony — up to $20,000 fine and/or up to 10 years.
- ≥ $50,000: felony — up to $50,000 fine and/or up to 20 years.
- Second or subsequent offense: felony — up to $50,000 fine and/or up to 20 years, regardless of value.
- Aggravated organized retail crime (committed in conjunction with willful malicious damage > $2,000 or causing moderate/great bodily injury): felony — up to $50,000 fine and/or up to 15 years.
Procedural and jurisdictional notes
- Venue: aggregated acts across counties can be prosecuted in any county where acts occurred; safeguards limit prosecutorial reach across solicitor circuits without consent.
- Transition/vesting: the act preserves enforcement and pending cases under prior law where applicable.
- Effective immediately upon gubernatorial approval (March 7, 2025).
Potential impacts and fiscal notes
- The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office (RFA) and other agencies noted the bill could increase circuit court caseloads and potentially incarcerations, affecting the court system, indigent defense, prosecution coordination, Department of Corrections, and probation/parole. Agencies indicated anticipated workload increases could be managed within existing appropriations.
- Corrections cost reference: FY 2023–24 average annual cost per inmate cited at $40,429 (approx. $36,553 state-funded).
- The bill may change fines and fees collected by courts and related revenue distributions.
Related information
- The legislative file includes multiple draft versions and amendments; this summary reflects the final enacted structure (Act No. 1).
- Note: the compiled docket included an unrelated Massachusetts electrification bill text in earlier materials; the operative statute and legislative actions summarized above concern South Carolina’s §16‑13‑135 (organized retail crime).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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