AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; amending the penalties for theft and related offenses as specified; amending the number of theft offenses needed for a felony theft offense; and providing for an effective date.
This act amends the criminal offense of theft. The act amends the penalty for misdemeanor theft to be punishable by imprisonment for up to one (1) year (increased from six (6) months), a fine not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) (increased from seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00)), or both. The act also amends the offense threshold for felony theft. A person convicted of a third or subsequent theft offense (rather than the fifth offense) is guilty of felony theft. The act amends the penalty for unlawful use of theft detection shielding devices to match the penalty for misdemeanor theft as amended in this act (imprisonment for one (1) year, a fine not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00), or both).