HB 25-1141

House Bill 25-1141, which has been signed into law in Colorado, aims to increase penalties for repeat offenders who commit crimes like theft or burglary at stores. If someone is convicted of two similar property crimes within the past four years and commits another one, they will now face a mandatory sentence that starts from the midpoint of the possible punishment range instead of just the minimum. Additionally, the bill clarifies how gift cards are valued when stolen: their full monetary value or potential maximum value, not just what's currently loaded on them, which also makes stealing gift cards a more serious offense under forgery laws. This affects anyone who commits these crimes repeatedly and targets stores that could be victims of such thefts.

Official Summary

Current law requires mandatory sentencing to at least the minimum of the prescribed range for a person who, within the immediately preceding 4 years, was twice convicted of felony theft from a store and who is once again convicted of felony theft from a store. The bill requires a state court to sentence a person convicted of burglary, robbery, theft, or a related property crime from or of a store, who was convicted of any 2 of the specified property crimes or comparable municipal offenses from or of a store within the preceding 4 years, to at least the midpoint term for the current offense. The bill adds language to the existing theft statute clarifying how a gift card's value is determined for purposes of determining the offense level and associated penalty. If the stolen item of value is a gift card, then the value is the full monetary face value or, in the case of a variable load gift card, the maximum potential value, regardless of whether funds have been transferred to the gift card at the time of the theft. The bill adds gift cards to the list of written instruments subject to forgery. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

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