SB325 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Bobby D. SingletonSenator

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Crimes and offenses, to amend the threshold amounts for theft of property offenses and receiving stolen property offenses, Secs. 13A-8-1, 13A-8-3, 13A-8-4, 13A-8-4.1, 13A-8-5, 13A-8-7, 13A-8-8, 13A-8-8.1, 13A-8-9, 13A-8-10, 13A-8-10.1, 13A-8-10.2, 13A-8-10.25, 13A-8-10.3, 13A-8-16, 13A-8-17, 13A-8-18, 13A-8-18.1, 13A-8-19 am'd.

Summary

SB 325 would raise and adjust the value thresholds that determine theft and receiving stolen property offenses, update related definitions, and include technical revisions with a note on local-funding per Amendment 621.

What This Bill Does

The bill increases the dollar amounts that separate different theft grades (and theft of lost property) and receiving stolen property into higher or lower offenses. It also updates key definitions used in these crimes and adds technical revisions, including how value is calculated and how multiple thefts in one scheme can be aggregated for charging. Additionally, it addresses constitutional requirements about local government funding and states the bill is exempt from a 2/3 vote/local-entity approval due to exceptions, with an effective date set a few months after passage.

Who It Affects

• Offenders: changes to threshold amounts may shift how their theft or receiving stolen property case is charged (different degrees and penalties) based on the value of property involved.
• Local governments and taxpayers: the bill discusses local-funding effects under Amendment 621 but is designed to be exempt from requiring local approvals; it becomes law after a defined effective date.

Key Provisions

• Raises theft thresholds: first-degree theft for property not taken from a person would occur if value exceeds $5,000; second-degree theft applies to value over $3,500 up to $5,000; third-degree theft to value over $2,500 up to $3,500; fourth-degree theft to value up to $2,500 (with exceptions for property taken from a person).
• Raises thresholds for theft of lost property in parallel with the above ranges (first degree >$5,000; second degree >$3,500 up to $5,000; third degree >$2,500 up to $3,500; fourth degree up to $2,500).
• Raises thresholds for receiving stolen property: first-degree >$5,000; second-degree >$3,500 up to $5,000; third-degree >$2,500 up to $3,500; fourth-degree up to $2,500.
• Updates and clarifies definitions used in theft and receiving offenses (including terms like deception, deprive, owner, property, value, and receiving).
• Allows aggregation of amounts across thefts within one scheme to determine offense level, with only one conviction for all thefts in the scheme.
• Constitutional funding note: acknowledges Amendment 621 and states the bill is exempt from the local-funding requirement due to specified exceptions; effective date is the first day of the third month after passage.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Crimes and Offenses