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--- version:HB 97+++ version:(document, no version)@@ -1,479 +1,27 @@-HB0097a -1- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]+ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE-34-LS0109\I+REPRESENTATIVE ZACK FIELDS- HOUSE BILL NO. 97+Fairview • South Addition • Forest Park • Downtown • North Star-IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA+House Bill 97 Version A-THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION--BY REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS--Introduced: 2/12/25-Referred: Judiciary, Finance--A BILL--FOR AN ACT ENTITLED--"An Act relating to theft; relating to organized retail theft; relating to property crimes; 1-relating to aggravating factors at sentencing; establishing a s tatewide marketplace 2-facilitator sales tax; and establishing the organized retail theft fund in the general fund." 3-BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4- * Section 1. AS 11.46.100 is amended to read: 5-Sec. 11.46.100. Theft defined. A person commits theft if 6-(1) with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate property 7-of another to oneself or a third person, the person obtains the property of another; 8-(2) the person commits theft of lost or mislaid property under 9-AS 11.46.160; 10-(3) the person commits theft by deception under AS 11.46.180; 11-(4) the person commits theft by receiving under AS 11.46.190; 12-(5) the person commits theft of services under AS 11.46.200; [OR] 13-(6) the person commits theft by failure to make required dispo sition of 14- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -2- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--funds received or held under AS 11.46.210; or 1-(7) the person commits organized retail theft under AS 11.46.215. 2- * Sec. 2. AS 11.46.120(a) is amended to read: 3-(a) A person commits the crime of theft in the first degree if the person 4-commits theft as defined in AS 11.46.100 and the value or aggregate value o f t h e 5-property or services is $20,000 [$25,000] or more. 6- * Sec. 3. AS 11.46.130(a) is amended to read: 7-(a) A person commits the crime o f theft in the second degree i f the person 8-commits theft as defined in AS 11.46.100 and 9-(1) the value or aggregate value of the property or services is $500 10-[$750] or more but less than $20,000 [$25,000]; 11-(2) the property is a firearm or explosive; 12-(3) the property is taken from the person of another; 13-(4) the property is taken from a vessel and is vessel safety o r survival 14-equipment; 15-(5) the property is taken from an aircraft and the property is aircraft 16-safety or survival equipment; 17-( 6 ) t h e v a l u e or aggregate value of the property is $200 [$250] or 18-more but less than $500 [$750] and, within the preceding five years, the person has 19-been convicted and sentenced on tw o or more separate occasions in this or another 20-jurisdiction of 21-(A) an offense under AS 11.46.120, or an offense under 22-another law or ordinance with similar elements; 23-(B) a crime set out in this subsection or an offense under 24-another law or ordinance with similar elements; 25-(C) an offense under AS 11.46.140(a)(1), or an offense under 26-another law or ordinance with similar elements; or 27-(D) an offense under AS 11.46.220(c)(1) or (c)(2)(A), or an 28-offense under another law or ordinance with similar elements; or 29-(7) the property is an access device or identification document. 30- * Sec. 4. AS 11.46.140(a) is amended to read: 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB0097a -3- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--(a) A person commits the crime of theft in the third degree if the person 1-commits theft as defined in AS 11.46.100 and 2-(1) the value or aggregate value of the property or services is $200 3-[$250] or more but less than $500 [$750]; or 4-(2) [REPEALED] 5-(3) [REPEALED] 6-( 4 ) t h e v a l u e or aggregate value of the property is less than $200 7-[$250] and, within the preceding five years, the person has bee n convicted and 8-sentenced on three or more separate occasions in this or anothe r jurisdiction of theft or 9-concealment of merchandise, or an offense under another law or ordinance with 10-similar elements. 11- * Sec. 5. AS 11.46.150(a) is amended to read: 12-(a) A person commits the crime of theft in the fourth degree i f the person 13-commits theft as defined in AS 11.46.100 and the value or aggregate value o f t h e 14-property or services is less than $200 [$250]. 15- * Sec. 6. AS 11.46 is amended by adding a new section to read: 16-Sec. 11.46.215. Organized retail theft. A person commits organized retail 17-theft if, in the state, as part of a coordinated plan to depriv e a commercial 18-establishment of merchandise on two or more occasions or as par t of a coordinated 19-plan to deprive multiple commercial establishments of merchandi se over a one-year 20-period, a person, with one or more conspirators, 21-(1) takes possession of mercha ndise with the intent to convert the 22-merchandise without paying for the merchandise; 23-(2) conceals merchandise with the intent to convert the mercha ndise 24-without paying for the merchandise; 25-(3) alters a label or a price tag, or marks the merchandise wi th the 26-intent of depriving a commercial establishment of all or some o f the value of the 27-merchandise; or 28-(4) transfers merchandise from a container in or on which the 29-merchandise is displayed to anothe r container with the intent o f depriving the 30-commercial establishment of all or some of the value of the merchandise. 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -4- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]-- * Sec. 7. AS 11.46.220(c) is amended to read: 1-(c) Concealment of merchandise is 2-(1) a class C felony if 3-(A) the merchandise is a firearm; 4-(B) the value of the merchandise is $500 [$750] or more; or 5-(C) the value of the merchandise is $200 [$250] or more but 6-less than $500 [$750] and, within the preceding five years, the person has be en 7-convicted and sentenced on two or more separate occasions in th is or another 8-jurisdiction of 9-(i) the offense of concea lment of merchandise under 10-this paragraph or (2)(A) of this subsection, or an offense unde r another 11-law or ordinance with similar elements; or 12-(ii) an offense under AS 11.46.120, 11.46.130, [OR] 13-11.46.140(a)(1), or 11.46.215, or an offense under another law or 14-ordinance with similar elements; 15-(2) a class A misdemeanor if 16-(A) the value of the merchandise is $200 [$250] or more but 17-less than $500 [$750]; or 18-(B) [REPEALED] 19-(C) the value of the me rchandise is less than $200 [$250] and, 20-within the preceding five years, the person has been convicted and sentenced 21-on three or more separate occasions of the offense of concealme nt of 22-merchandise or theft in any degree, or an offense under another l a w o r 23-ordinance with similar elements; 24-(3) a class B misdemeanor if the value of the merchandise is l ess than 25-$200 [$250]. 26- * Sec. 8. AS 11.46.260(b) is amended to read: 27-(b) Removal of identification marks is 28-(1) a class C felony if the value of the property on which the s e r i a l 29-number or identification mark appeared is $500 [$750] or more; 30-(2) a class A misdemeanor if th e value of the property on whic h the 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB0097a -5- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--serial number or identif ication mark appeared is $200 [$250] or more but less than 1-$500 [$750]; 2-(3) a class B misdemeanor if the value of the property on whic h the 3-serial number or identification mark appeared is less than $200 [$250]. 4- * Sec. 9. AS 11.46.270(b) is amended to read: 5-(b) Unlawful possession is 6-(1) a class C felony if the value of the property on which the s e r i a l 7-number or identification mark appeared is $500 [$750] or more; 8-(2) a class A misdemeanor if th e value of the property on whic h the 9-serial number or identif ication mark appeared is $200 [$250] or more but less than 10-$500 [$750]; 11-(3) a class B misdemeanor if the value of the property on whic h the 12-serial number or identification mark appeared is less than $200 [$250]. 13- * Sec. 10. AS 11.46.280(d) is amended to read: 14-(d) Issuing a bad check is 15-(1) a class B felony if the face amount of the check is $20,000 16-[$25,000] or more; 17-(2) a class C felony if the face amount of the check is $500 [$750] or 18-more but less than $20,000 [$25,000]; 19-(3) a class A misdemeanor if the face amount of the check is $200 20-[$250] or more but less than $500 [$750]; 21-(4) a class B misdemeanor if the face amount of the check is l ess than 22-$200 [$250]. 23- * Sec. 11. AS 11.46.285(b) is amended to read: 24-(b) Fraudulent use of an access device or identification document is 25-(1) a class B felony if the value of the property or services obtained is 26-$20,000 [$25,000] or more; 27-(2) a class C felony if the value of the property or services obtained is 28-$75 or more but less than $20,000 [$25,000]; 29-(3) a class A misdemeanor if the value of the property or serv ices 30-obtained is less than $75. 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -6- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]-- * Sec. 12. AS 11.46.360(a) is amended to read: 1-(a) A person commits the crime of vehicle theft in the first d egree if, having 2-no right to do so or any reasonable ground to believe the perso n has such a right, the 3-person drives, tows away, or takes 4-(1) the car, truck, motorcycle, motor home, bus, aircraft, or watercraft 5-of another; 6-(2) the propelled vehicle of another and 7-(A) the vehicle or any other property of another is damaged in a 8-total amount of $500 [$750] or more; 9-(B) the owner incurs reasonable expenses as a result of the lo ss 10-of use of the vehicle [,] in a total amount of $500 [$750] or more; or 11-( C) th e o w n e r is d e pr ive d o f th e u s e o f the v e hic le f o r s e ve n 12-days or more; 13-(3) the propelled vehicle of anot her and the vehicle is marked a s a 14-police or emergency vehicle; or 15-(4) the propelled vehicle of another and, within the preceding seven 16-years, the person was convicted under 17-(A) this section or AS 11.46.365; 18-(B) former AS 11.46.482(a)(4) or (5); 19-(C) former AS 11.46.484(a)(2); 20-(D) AS 11.46.120 - 11.46.140 of an offense involving the theft 21-of a propelled vehicle; or 22-(E) a law or ordinance of this or another jurisdiction with 23-elements substantially similar to those of an offense described in (A) - (D) of 24-this paragraph. 25- * Sec. 13. AS 11.46.482(a) is amended to read: 26-(a) A person commits the crime of criminal mischief in the thi rd degree if, 27-having no right to do so or any reasonable ground to believe th e person has such a 28-right, 29-(1) with intent to damage property of another, the person dama ges 30-property of another in an amount of $500 [$750] or more; 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB0097a -7- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--(2) the person recklessly creates a risk of damage in an amoun t 1-exceeding $100,000 to property of another by the use of widely dangerous means; or 2-(3) the person knowingly 3-(A) defaces, damages, or desecrates a cemetery or the contents 4-of a cemetery or a tomb, grave, or memorial regardless of wheth er the tomb, 5-grave, or memorial is in a cemetery or whether the cemetery, to mb, grave, or 6-memorial appears to be abandoned, lost, or neglected; 7-(B) removes human remains or associated burial artifacts from 8-a cemetery, tomb, grave, or memorial regardless of whether the cemetery, 9-tomb, grave, or memorial appears to be abandoned, lost, or neglected; 10-(C) defaces or damages real property that 11-(i) has a place of religious education or worship located 12-on it; and 13-(ii) if leased or used by a religious organization and is 14-part of a larger property, is the part of the property leased o r used by 15-the religious organization, including the access to the entry o f that part 16-of the property; or 17-(D) defaces or damages tangible personal property that has 18-religious significance and is used by a religious organization or displayed for 19-educational purposes. 20- * Sec. 14. AS 11.46.530(b) is amended to read: 21-(b) Criminal simulation is 22-(1) a class C felony if the value of what the object purports to represent 23-is $500 [$750] or more; 24-(2) a class A misdemeanor if th e value of what the object purp orts to 25-represent is $200 [$250] or more but less than $500 [$750]; 26-(3) a class B misdemeanor if th e value of what the object purp orts to 27-represent is less than $200 [$250]. 28- * Sec. 15. AS 11.46.620(d) is amended to read: 29-(d) Misapplication of property is 30-(1) a class C felony if the value of the property misapplied i s $500 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -8- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--[$750] or more; 1-(2) a class A misdemeanor if th e value of the property misappl ied is 2-less than $500 [$750]. 3- * Sec. 16. AS 11.46.980(e) is amended to read: 4-(e) In determining the degree o r classification of a crime und er this chapter, if 5-the combined value of the property or services taken from one o r more persons or 6-commercial establishments within a period of 180 days is $500 [$750] or more but 7-less than $20,000 [$25,000], the value may be aggregated. 8- * Sec. 17. AS 11.46.990 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 9-(15) "aggregate value" means th e total value of merchandise ta ken, 10-concealed, altered, or transferred from any commercial establis hment over the course 11-of one calendar year; 12-(16) "commercial establishment" means a person or business tha t sells 13-goods to the public for use or consumption rather than for resale. 14- * Sec. 18. AS 12.55.155(c) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 15-(38) the offense was one of a continuing series of criminal of fenses 16-that qualify as organized retail theft. 17- * Sec. 19. AS 43 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 18-Chapter 72. Marketplace Facilitator Sales Tax. 19-Sec. 43.72.010. Levy of sales tax. A sales tax of two percent is levied on the 20-annual gross sales of the sale of property or services delivere d in the state by a 21-marketplace facilitator. A sale by or to the United States or a n entity that is exempt 22-from federal taxation under 26 U.S .C. 501(c)(3) (Internal Reven ue Code) is exempt 23-from the tax imposed under this chapter. 24-Sec. 43.72.020. Collection of sales tax by marketplace facilita tors; physical 25-presence. (a) The tax described in AS 43.72.010 is imposed on the purcha ser. The 26-marketplace facilitator shall collect the tax and pay the tax t o the department. A 27-marketplace facilitator shall hold all taxes collected in trust f o r t h e s t a t e . A 28-marketplace facilitator shall apply the tax to the sales price. 29-(b) The marketplace facilitator is not required to collect and remit taxes to the 30-department unless, in the previous calendar year, the 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB0097a -9- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--(1) marketplace facilitator's gross sales revenue from the sal e of 1-property or services delivered in the state met or exceeded $250,000; or 2-(2) marketplace facilitator made 200 or more separate sales of property 3-or services delivered in the state. 4-(c) A marketplace facilitator shall register with the departme nt if it satisfies 5-the conditions of (b)(1) or (2) of this section. 6-(d) A marketplace facilitator who does not have a physical pre sence in the 7-state is subject to the provisions of this chapter and shall re mit the sales tax levied 8-under AS 43.72.010 if the marketplace facilitator satisfies one of the requirements 9-under (b) of this section and c onducts sales through an online marketplace and 10-delivery is located within the state. 11-Sec. 43.72.030. Liability for payment of tax. (a) Liability for the payment of 12-a tax imposed under this chapter is not extinguished until the taxes have been paid to 13-the department. 14-(b) A marketplace facilitator is liable for the tax due under this chapter and 15-may be required to furnish ade quate security as provided in AS 43.72.080 to ensure 16-collection and payment of the taxes. 17-Sec. 43.72.040. Method of accounting. A person who is a marketplace 18-facilitator shall report and pay the tax due under this chapter using the same method of 19-accounting that the person uses for federal tax purposes. 20-Sec. 43.72.050. Returns; payment. A marketplace facilitator responsible for 21-collecting the sales tax due under AS 43.72.020 shall file a re turn on a form or in a 22-format prescribed by the department and pay the tax to the depa rtment. The 23-marketplace facilitator shall file the return and pay the tax o n or before the last day of 24-the month following the month for which the tax is due. 25-Sec. 43.72.060. Methods. (a) The department shall adopt regulations providing 26-a rounding method for payment of a tax imposed under this chapter. 27-(b) The department may use sampling principles or methods inst ead of 28-examining 100 percent of records in conducting an audit of a re turn filed under 29-AS 43.72.050. 30-Sec. 43.72.070. Deduction for bad debts. (a) A marketplace facilitator filing a 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -10- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--return under AS 43.72.050 may deduct sales found to be worthles s. The bad debt may 1-be deducted when it 2-(1) is written off as uncollectable in the person's books and records; 3-and 4-(2) qualifies as a deduction fo r federal income tax purposes u nder 26 5-U.S.C. (Internal Revenue Code). 6-(b) If the amount of bad debt exceeds the amount of taxable sa les or leases 7-during the period that the bad debt is written off, a marketpla ce facilitator may file a 8-refund claim with the department. 9-(c) If a bad debt deducted under (a) of this section is later collected, the 10-marketplace facilitator who claimed the deduction shall pay the tax levied under 11-AS 43.72.020 on the amount collected. For purposes of this sect ion, a payment made 12-on a debt or account is applied first to the sales price of the property or service, then to 13-interest, service charges, and any other charges. 14-Sec. 43.72.080. Security: limitations ; sale of security deposit at auction; 15-bond. (a) The department may require a marketplace facilitator to dep osit with the 16-department security in a form a nd amount that the department de termines is 17-appropriate. The deposit may not be more than twice the estimat ed average tax 18-liability under this chapter for t he period for which the retur n is required under 19-AS 43.72.050 to be filed or $10,000, whichever is less. The dep artment may increase 20-or decrease the amount of security, subject to the limitations provided in this section. 21-(b) The department may sell at public auction property deposited as security to 22-recover a tax amount required to be collected under this chapter, including interest and 23-penalties. Notice of the sale must be sent at least 30 days bef ore the sale by certified 24-mail to the last known address of the person who deposited the security. After the sale, 25-any surplus above the amount due that is not required as securi ty under this section 26-must be returned to the person who deposited the security. 27-(c) Instead of security, the department may require a marketpl ace facilitator to 28-file a bond to guarantee solvency and responsibility issued by a surety company 29-authorized to transact business in this state. 30-(d) In addition to the other re quirements of this section, the department may 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB0097a -11- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--require the corporate officers, directors, or shareholders of a marketplace facilitator 1-corporation to provide a personal guaranty and assumption of li ability for the payment 2-of the tax due under this chapter. 3-Sec. 43.72.090. Quitting business; liability of successor. (a) Within 10 days 4-after a marketplace facilitator quits business, sells, exchange s, or otherwise transfers 5-the business, or disposes of the complete stock of goods of the business, the 6-marketplace facilitator shall file a return and pay the taxes due under this chapter. 7-(b) Except as provided in (d) of this section, a successor in a business or stock 8-of goods is liable for the payment of the full amount of tax and shall withhold from the 9-sales price payable to the prede cessor a sum sufficient to pay any tax due until the 10-predecessor produces either a receipt from the department showi ng payment in full of 11-any tax due or a statement from the department that tax is not due. 12-(c) If a tax is due but has not been paid as provided in (a) o f this section, the 13-successor is liable for the payment of the full amount of tax. The payment of the tax 14-by the successor is considered to be a payment on the sales price and, if the payment is 15-greater in amount than the sales price, the amount of the diffe rence becomes a debt 16-due to the successor from the taxpayer owing the tax under (a) of this section. 17-(d) A successor is not liable fo r any tax due under this secti on if the successor 18-gives written notice to the department of the acquisition and t he department does not 19-issue an assessment against the predecessor within six months a fter receipt of the 20-notice from the successor. If the department issues an assessme nt and a copy of the 21-assessment is not mailed to the successor, the successor is not liable for the tax due. 22-(e) In this section, "predecessor" means a marketplace facilit ator that quits 23-business, sells, exchanges, or otherwise transfers the business , or disposes of the 24-complete stock of goods of the business. 25-Sec. 43.72.100. Tax as debt. (a) The tax imposed by this chapter and related 26-interest and penalties become a personal debt of a marketplace facilitator required to 27-file a return under AS 43.72.050 or a person required by the de partment to personally 28-guarantee the payment of taxes under this chapter from the time the liability arises, 29-regardless of when the time for payment of the liability occurs. 30-(b) If the personal representa tive of an estate has voluntaril y distributed the 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -12- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--assets held in that capacity without reserving sufficient asset s t o p a y t h e t a x e s d u e 1-under this chapter and interest and penalties resulting from ta xes due under this 2-chapter, the personal representative is personally liable for t he taxes, interest, and 3-penalties, to the extent permitted under AS 13.16. 4-(c) An officer or employee of a marketplace facilitator whose duty it is to 5-collect, truthfully account for, and pay to the state the taxes imposed by this chapter 6-and who fails to pay the taxes is liable to the state for the t axes imposed by this 7-chapter and the penalty and interest due on the taxes. 8-Sec. 43.72.110. Organized retail theft fund. (a) The organized retail theft 9-fund is established in the general fund. The legislature may ap propriate the tax 10-collected under AS 43.72.010 to the organized retail theft fund . The legislature may 11-appropriate money in the fund to l aw enforcement agencies to in vestigate and 12-prosecute organized retail theft under AS 11.46.215 and related fraud and property 13-crimes. 14-(b) The fund is not a dedicated fund. Money in the fund does n ot lapse and 15-remains available for appropriation in successive fiscal years. 16-Sec. 43.72.900. Definitions. In this chapter, 17-(1) "law enforcement agency" means a public agency that perfor ms as 18-one of its principal functions an activity relating to crime pr evention, control, or 19-reduction or relating to the enforcement of criminal law; "law enforcement agency" 20-does not include a court; 21-(2) "marketplace facilitator" means a person who contracts wit h a 22-third-party seller to facilitate the sale of the third-party se ller's property, product, or 23-services through a physical retail location or online marketpla ce operated by the 24-person, and engages 25-(A) directly or indirectly by 26-(i) transmitting or otherwise communicating the offer or 27-acceptance between the buyer and the third-party seller; 28-(ii) owning or operating the electronic, physical, or 29-technological infrastructure that brings the buyer and the thir d-party 30-seller together; 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB0097a -13- HB 97- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--(iii) providing a virtual currency that buyers are allowed 1-or required to use to purchase products from the third-party seller; or 2-(iv) software development or research and development 3-activities related to any of the activities described in (i) - (iii) of this 4-subparagraph, if the activities are directly related to a physi cal or 5-electronic marketplace operated by the person or an affiliated person; 6-and 7-(B) in one or more of the following activities with respect to 8-the third-party seller's product: 9-(i) payment processing services; 10-(ii) fulfillment or storage services; 11-(iii) listing products for sale; 12-(iv) setting prices; 13-(v) branding sales as the marketplace facilitator; 14-(vi) taking orders; 15-(vii) advertising or promotion; or 16-(viii) providing customer service or accepting or 17-assisting with returns or exchanges; 18-(3) "online marketplace" means a consumer-directed, electronic ally 19-based or electronically accessed platform that 20-(A) allows, facilitates, or enables third-party sellers to sel l, 21-purchase, pay for, store, ship, or deliver a consumer product; 22-(B) is used by one or more third-party sellers; and 23-(C) has a contractual or similar relationship with consumers 24-that governs consumer use of the platform to purchase consumer products; 25-(4) "resident" means a natural person domiciled in the state; 26-(5) "third-party seller" means a person who sells, offers to s ell, or 27-contracts to sell a consumer product through an online marketpl ace; "third-party 28-seller" does not include a pers on who operates an online market place or has an 29-ongoing contractual relationship with an online marketplace to provide manufacturing, 30-distribution, wholesaling, or fu lfillment of consumer product o rders for the online 31- 34-LS0109\I-HB 97 -14- HB0097a- New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]--marketplace. 1- * Sec. 20. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 2-read: 3-APPLICABILITY. (a) The following sections apply to offenses com mitted on or after 4-the effective date of those sections: 5-(1) AS 11.46.120(a), as amended by sec. 2 of this Act; 6-(2) AS 11.46.130(a), as amended by sec. 3 of this Act; 7-(3) AS 11.46.140(a), as amended by sec. 4 of this Act; 8-(4) AS 11.46.150(a), as amended by sec. 5 of this Act; 9-(5) AS 11.46.220(c), as amended by sec. 7 of this Act; 10-(6) AS 11.46.260(b), as amended by sec. 8 of this Act; 11-(7) AS 11.46.270(b), as amended by sec. 9 of this Act; 12-(8) AS 11.46.280(d), as amended by sec. 10 of this Act; 13-(9) AS 11.46.285(b), as amended by sec. 11 of this Act; 14-(10) AS 11.46.360(a), as amended by sec. 12 of this Act; 15-(11) AS 11.46.482(a), as amended by sec. 13 of this Act; 16-(12) AS 11.46.530(b), as amended by sec. 14 of this Act; 17-(13) AS 11.46.620(d), as amended by sec. 15 of this Act; and 18-(14) AS 11.46.980(e), as amended by sec. 16 of this Act. 19-(b) AS 43.72.010, added by sec. 19 of this Act, applies to the taxation of goods 20-purchased on or after the effective date of this Act. 21+Organized retail crime is a growing problem in Alaska and throughout the country. A survey by+the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found 54% of U.S. small business owners experienced an+increase in shoplifting in 2021.+Online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace, permit the resale of+goods with relative anonymity, allowing organized crime rings to coordinate the theft of high-+value retail items, such as power tools, technology, and other items, and for these groups to resell+these items at nearly retail value. These actions often support a criminal underbelly, which uses+the resale of goods to finance other illicit activities, such as the drug trade.+At least thirty-four states have acted on organized retail crime, for example:+- Virginia made organized retail crime a felony.+- Georgia made it more difficult for organized groups to resell stolen goods online.+- Minnesota created a separate offense for organized retail theft.+- Oregon made it easier for prosecutors to combine organized retail crime offenses+happening across jurisdictions.+HB 97 modifies the criminal code to lower the dollar-amount threshold for felony offenses. The+bill defines organized retail theft and makes it into an aggravated factor for use in sentencing.+With the goal of supporting local retailers, the bill also establishes a 2% sales tax for resellers+and creates an organized retail theft fund in the general fund, intended to fund law enforcement+agencies statewide to combat theft in our communities.
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