(The Center Square) – A bill to strengthen penalties for those consistently found guilty of organized retail crime has made it out of the Arizona House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
The bill would make someone a “category two repetitive offender” in sentencing after the third or higher organized retail crime offense, according to the text of House Bill 2435 .
The six Republicans on the committee voted in favor of advancing the bill, whereas the three Democrats voted against it.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said it would give the justice system “leeway in sentencing.”
“My office is receiving far too many organized retail theft cases,” she said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The bill is sponsored by Republican House Speaker Ben Toma, who said that the bill will stop issues with retail crime in states like California. In the Golden State, retailers in cities like San Francisco are closing brick-and-mortar stores and locking up products as rampant theft is impacting business performance.