Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Shoplifting Law topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears technical fix to ensure municipal shoplifting convictions count toward felony enhancements
Summary
Lawmakers heard from retail groups and municipal advocates a technical correction to North Dakota's shoplifting law intended to make municipal convictions count when enhancing penalties for repeat offenders; the committee later moved the bill out on a due‑pass vote.
House Judiciary Committee members heard testimony supporting Senate Bill 2257, a technical amendment to clarify that municipal-court convictions for shoplifting count toward the repeat-offender threshold that elevates shoplifting penalties.
Bill supporters said the 2021 change to theft statutes was intended to deter repeat retail theft by escalating penalties — first offense class B misdemeanor, repeated offenses within three years elevated to class A misdemeanor and a fourth or subsequent offense to a class C felony — but district courts had interpreted the statute to exclude municipal convictions from that enhancement in at least one recent case.
Bill Wilkin of the North Dakota League of Cities told the committee the amendment adds the phrase “or an equivalent ordinance” to the statutory subsection to make municipal violations equivalent for enhancement purposes. Mike Rood of the North Dakota Retail Association said the change restores the deterrent effect for repeat offenders and urged a due‑pass recommendation.
Voting action: The committee later moved SB 2257 on a motion for a due pass. Representative Olsen carried the motion and Representative Van Winkle seconded it. The committee recorded the motion as carried 9–4 with 1 member absent; the committee minutes list the final tally as "Motion carries 9 to 4 with 1 absent, not voting." The committee named Representative Olsen as the bill carrier to carry the measure forward.
What it means: If enacted, the statutory change would make municipal-shoplifting convictions count toward the three‑year enhancement window used to escalate penalties under the North Dakota Century Code provision cited by witnesses. Testimony cited a 2023 Ward County District Court decision interpreting the enhancement language as excluding municipal convictions.
Next steps: With a due‑pass recommendation from the committee and a bill carrier named, SB 2257 will move to the full House for further consideration.
