A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the organized retail theft statutes, as recommended by the Joint Legislative oversight Committee on justice and public safety.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑86.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑86.6.  Organized retail theft.
(a)	A person is guilty of a Class H felony if the person does either of the following:
(1)	Conspires with another person to commit theft of retail property from retail establishments, with a value exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) aggregated over a 90‑day period, with the intent to sell that retail property for monetary or other gain, and who takes or causes that retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person in exchange for consideration.
(2)	Receives or possesses any retail property that has been taken or stolen in violation of subdivision (1) of this subsection while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe the property is stolen.
(a1)	A person is guilty of a Class G felony if the person does either of the following:
(1)	Conspires with another person to commit theft of retail property from one or more retail establishments, with a value exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) aggregated over a 90‑day period, with the intent to sell that retail property for monetary or other gain, and who takes or causes that retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person in exchange for consideration.
(2)	Conspires with two or more other persons as an organizer, supervisor, financier, leader, or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to effectuate the transfer or sale of property stolen from a merchant in violation of this section.
(a2)	A person is guilty of a Class F felony if the person does either of the following:
(1)	Conspires with another person to commit theft of retail property from one or more retail establishments, with a value exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) aggregated over a 90‑day period, with the intent to sell that retail property for monetary or other gain, and who takes or causes that retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person in exchange for consideration.
(2)	Conspires with two or more other persons as an organizer, supervisor, financier, leader, or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to effectuate the transfer or sale of property stolen from a merchant in violation of this section.
(a3)	A person is guilty of a Class C felony if the person does either of the following:
(1)	Conspires with another person to commit theft of retail property from one or more retail establishments, with a value exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) aggregated over a 90‑day period, with the intent to sell that retail property for monetary or other gain, and who takes or causes that retail property to be placed in the control of a retail property fence or other person in exchange for consideration.
(2)	Conspires with two or more other persons as an organizer, supervisor, financier, leader, or manager to engage for profit in a scheme or course of conduct to effectuate the transfer or sale of property stolen from a merchant in violation of this section.
(a4)	A person is guilty of a Class G felony if the person conspires with another person to commit theft of retail property from a retail establishment, with a value exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) and damages, destroys, or defaces real or personal property in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(a5)	A person is guilty of a Class G felony if the person conspires with another person to commit theft of retail property from a retail establishment, with a value exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) and commits an act of assault and battery against an employee or independent contractor of the retail establishment or a law enforcement officer in the commission of the theft of retail property.
(b)	Any interest a person has acquired or maintained in violation of this section shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to the procedures for forfeiture set out in G.S. 18B‑504.
(c)	Thefts of retail property occurring in more than one county may be aggregated into an alleged violation of this section. Each county where a part of the charged offense occurs has concurrent venue as described in G.S. 15A‑132."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑86.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	All conveyances, including vehicles, watercraft or aircraft, used to unlawfully conceal, convey or transport property in violation of G.S. 14‑71, 14‑71.1, or 14‑71.2, used by any person in the commission of armed or common‑law robbery, used in violation of G.S. 14‑72.7, used by any person in the commission of any larceny when the value of the property taken is more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or used by any person in the commission of organized retail theft in violation of G.S. 14‑86.6 shall be subject to forfeiture as provided herein, except that:
(1)	No conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction of the business of the common carrier shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section unless it shall appear that the owner or other person in custody or control of such conveyance was a consenting party or privy to a violation that may subject the conveyance to forfeiture under this section;
(2)	No conveyance shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section by reason of any act or omission committed or omitted while such conveyance was unlawfully in the possession of a person other than the owner in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or any state;
(3)	No conveyance shall be forfeited pursuant to this section unless the violation involved is a felony;
(4)	A forfeiture of a conveyance encumbered by a bona fide security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party who neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission;
(5)	No conveyance shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section unless the owner knew or had reason to believe the vehicle was being used in the commission of any violation that may subject the conveyance to forfeiture under this section;
(6)	The trial judge in the criminal proceeding which may subject the conveyance to forfeiture may order the seized conveyance returned to the owner if he finds forfeiture inappropriate. If the conveyance is not returned to the owner the procedures provided in subsection (e) shall apply.
As used in this section concerning a violation of G.S. 14‑72.7, the term "conveyance" includes any "instrumentality" as defined in that section."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2022, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.