Earlier this month Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), along with Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Susie Lee (D-NV-3) and Dina Titus (D-NV-1) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to address the continuing issue of Organized Retail Crime (ORC). The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025 would establish a coordinated multi-agency response and create new tools to tackle evolving trends in organized retail theft. Similar legislation was introduced in 2022 and 2023, but the current bill’s scope has been expanded to include a new emphasis on supply chain and cargo theft.
The bill makes the following amendments to Title 18 of the U.S. Code:
- Allows criminal forfeiture for convictions under sections 659 (interstate shipments), 2314 (transportation of stolen goods) and 2315 (sale or receipt of stolen goods).
- Expands money laundering statutes to include gift cards as “monetary instruments.”
- Enables prosecution of organized retail and supply chain crime groups using interstate or foreign commerce (e.g., the internet) to facilitate crimes.
- Permits aggregation of theft values totaling $5,000 or more over 12 months as a basis for charging under sections 2314 and 2315.
The legislation also mandates the establishment of a coordination center within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the Department of Homeland Security to:
- Coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement efforts against Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime (ORSCC).
- Partner with private industry to share threat information and collaborate on investigations.
- Track trends and issue annual public reports.
- Review and optimize grant programs and training to enhance enforcement.
- Issue a report to Congress on its progress and will sunset after seven years unless extended.
“Across the United States, communities small and large are facing an unprecedented number of ORC incidents,” ICSC President & CEO Tom McGee said. “The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act would provide the necessary resources to bring the people and organizations behind this nationwide problem to justice by establishing formal coordination between law enforcement and the private sector. We applaud Senators Grassley and Cortez Masto, and Representatives Joyce, Lee and Titus for reintroducing the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. We believe the bill represents a huge step in the right direction towards addressing this growing issue.”
ICSC was joined in support of the bill by the National Retail Federation (NRF), United Parcel Service (UPS), Association of American Railroads (AAR), Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) , Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
In the States
State lawmakers are also continuing to address the issue of ORC this session. So far this year, lawmakers in six states — Arkansas, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah — have enacted eight bills targeting retail theft gangs, with three other states close to joining that list.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) signed the first ORC bill of the 2025 session (SC HB 352) into law in March. The legislation strengthens penalties for misdemeanor and felony theft counts and allows prosecutors to aggregate the total value of thefts committed across different jurisdictions within a 90-day period.
Legislation enacted in Arkansas (AR SB 300) allows multiple thefts to be aggregated over a period of 120 days, while North Dakota’s law (ND SB 2257) increases penalties for repeat offenders.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed a comprehensive ORC bill (NJ SB 3587 and AB 4755) into law earlier this month that creates higher penalties for repeat offenders, those who assault retail employees and leaders of retail theft enterprises. The sweeping measure also allows law enforcement to charge thieves with the total value of thefts committed over a 12-month period.
Tennessee’s legislation (TN HB 207 and TN SB 240) criminalizes the use of social media to sell or buy stolen merchandise, removing anti-shoplifting devices, and possessing 10 or more gift cards with the intent to defraud another.
In Utah, lawmakers included some unique provisions in their bill (UT HB 38), such as allowing prosecutors to include prior convictions from other state courts for sentencing standards and higher penalties for bringing a minor into a criminal theft operation.
Other states are still considering bills addressing retail theft. Legislation to create higher penalties for retail theft awaits the Governor’s signature in Maryland (MD HB 179 and MD SB 11) and Montana (MT SB 19). In Oklahoma, lawmakers are hoping to get legislation (OK HB 1592) to the Governor’s desk that extends the ORC Task Force another two years, allows the Attorney General to have a dedicated task force officer to investigate crimes and requires offenders to pay restitution to theft victims.
For more information contact gpp@icsc.com.
