The Senate voted to create a mandatory minimum sentence for three or more convictions of retail theft.
Under AB 829, the minimum sentence for a third conviction would be 180 days if the convictions were within a five-year period. The convictions would have to be for acts committed on separate days. It passed via voice vote.
The Senate also approved AB 827, which would create a new penalty for five or more people committing multiple thefts in concert with each other.
Currently, theft carries penalties that range from a class A misdemeanor if the value is $2,500 or less to a class F felony if the property exceeds $100,000.
Under the bill, if it’s a theft committed by five or more people at the same time, the value of the total property taken would be aggregated to determine the penalty. It passed 20-12 along party lines.
The bills now head to Gov. Tony Evers.
