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Bill

SB 300

Relating to private security services; and declaring an emergency.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Mark Meek

Creates a stand-alone handgun theft felony with up to 5 years (first) or 10 years (subsequent), mandatory consecutive sentences, and an evidentiary carve-out.

Effective date, June 26, 2025.
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Bill Summary · SB 300

SB 300 — Criminal Law: Theft of a Handgun

Status: Withdrawn by sponsor
Introduced: February 10, 2025 (bill file shows initial legislative activity and committee referral)
Classification: Bill (criminal law amendment)

Purpose / Intent

To create a stand‑alone felony offense for theft of a handgun and to impose enhanced, specific criminal penalties and sentencing rules for that offense.

Key provisions

  • Adds a distinct offense titled “theft of a handgun” to the criminal theft statute (amending Article — Criminal Law, §7‑104 or analogous theft section in the bill text).
  • Penalties specified:
    • First conviction: felony punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment or a fine up to $1,000, or both.
    • Second or subsequent conviction: felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine up to $2,500, or both.
  • Sentencing rule: a sentence imposed for theft of a handgun is to be separate from and consecutive to any sentence for any other offense.
  • Evidence/inference provision: the bill explicitly states that a statutory limitation (found elsewhere in the theft section) that ordinarily restricts inferring intent/knowledge in certain theft circumstances does not apply to theft of a handgun. (In plain terms: the usual evidentiary rule limiting inference of criminal intent from certain facts is carved out for this handgun‑theft offense.)
  • Otherwise leaves existing theft value‑based grading and related theft provisions intact for non‑handgun thefts.

Who would be affected

  • Offenders: persons who steal, possess, or facilitate thefts of handguns would be subject to the new statutory felony and its enhanced penalties.
  • Prosecutors and courts: new offense classification, charging decisions, plea negotiations, and sentencing (including mandatory consecutive sentencing) would be affected.
  • Corrections system: if prosecuted and convicted at greater frequency, the change could increase felony incarceration and related correctional costs (magnitude unknown).
  • Law enforcement: may change investigative priorities and charging strategies for stolen firearms.
  • Gun owners and retailers: the bill does not change gun ownership rules or civil liability, but the new criminal classification targets theft conduct.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Bill was introduced in early 2025 and received initial committee referral and first reading activity.
  • Sponsor subsequently withdrew the bill (listed status: “Withdrawn by Sponsor”); as withdrawn, it did not advance to enactment and is not law.
  • Because the bill did not reach final passage, its provisions did not take effect and would need to be reintroduced in a future session to be considered again.

Potential impact and considerations

  • The bill creates a firearm‑specific theft felony with mandatory consecutive sentencing, reflecting a legislative policy priority to penalize theft of firearms more severely than comparable property thefts.
  • Fiscal and correctional impacts were not specified in the text; impacts depend on prosecution frequency and conviction rates and are therefore uncertain.
  • The evidentiary carve‑out may lower the threshold for proving intent/knowledge in handgun theft prosecutions relative to other theft prosecutions; its practical effect would depend on how courts interpret and apply that language.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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