PHOENIX, Arizona (PNN) - April 27, 2024 - Katie Hobbs on Tuesday vetoed Senate Bill 1414 which would have increased penalties for repeat offenders of Arizona’s organized retail theft law.

The legislation would deem that “a person who is convicted of a third or subsequent violation of organized retail theft with the intent to resell or trade the stolen merchandise is to be sentenced as a category two repetitive offender,” as opposed to current law, which classifies repeat offenders as a category one repetitive offender “for the second and subsequent offenses”. Category two offenders receive harsher sentences.

Hobbs wrote in a veto letter, “Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1414. I have signed Senator Gowan’s bill SB1411 establishing an Organized Retail Theft Task Force in the Attorney General’s office that will be critical to adequately and appropriately combat this issue. Their first report is due July 1, 2025, and I look forward to reviewing their policy recommendations and working together to find balanced policies for this matter.”

However, the bill she signed into law only establishes a task force in the Attorney General’s office. It does nothing to punish repeat offenders like SB1414 does.

SB1414 requires a person who is convicted of a third or subsequent violation of organized retail theft with the intent to resell or trade the stolen merchandise to be sentenced as a category two repetitive offender.

Current statute classifies a person who is convicted of multiple felony offenses that were not committed on the same occasion, but that are either consolidated for trial purposes or are not historical prior felony convictions, as a first-time felony offender for the first offense and a category one repetitive offender for the second and subsequent offenses. A person who is at least 18 years of age or who has been tried as an adult must be sentenced as: 1) a category two repetitive offender if the person stands convicted of a felony and has one historical prior felony conviction; or 2) a category three repetitive offender if the person stands convicted of a felony and has two or more historical prior felony convictions.

A person commits organized retail theft if the person acting alone or in conjunction with another person: 1) removes merchandise from a retail establishment without paying the purchase price with the intent to resell or trade the merchandise for money or other value; or 2) uses an artifice, instrument, container, device or other article to facilitate the removal of merchandise from a retail establishment without paying the purchase price. Organized retail theft is a class 4 felony.

A category two repetitive offender who is convicted of organized retail theft carries a presumptive imprisonment sentence of 4.5 years and an aggravated imprisonment sentence of 7.5 years. The fine for a felony may be up to $150,000.

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.

This is one of the ten measures Katie Hobbs rejected on Tuesday. Hobbs vetoed several common-sense bills on Tuesday, including SB2581, which would require proof of residency to vote in Arizona elections; SB1129, which would protect homeowners by allowing them to remove an unlawful occupant or a “squatter” from their property; and SB1182, which would have protected girls’ showers from biological males in public K-12 schools.

Hobbs vetoed a total of 143 bills last year. As of Tuesday, she has vetoed 195 bills since usurping office last January, shattering Democrat Janet Napolitano’s previous record of 181 vetoes during an entire four-year term.