Senate adopts graduated penalties for identity-related offenses and advances bill

First-substitute Senate Bill 75 was amended on the floor to align identity-related penalties with existing statutory penalty gradations. The amendment sets escalating penalties based on the value of the credits, goods or services obtained: smaller-value offenses as misdemeanors and larger-value offenses escalating through third- and second-degree felonies as value thresholds are exceeded. Senator Valentine framed the amendment as an effort to make penalty tracks parallel across statutes dealing with credit-card and identity fraud.

Senator Davis, sponsor, said the bill already allowed aggregation of multiple violations to reach higher felonies where appropriate and supported the amendment for consistency. Senator Hillier cautioned that identity offenses implicate personal harms and urged careful consideration of when felony classifications apply. After debate, the Senate adopted the amendment and advanced the bill to third reading on a recorded tally of 26 ayes with no nays and three absences. The amendment and debate remain part of the legislative record and will be before the chamber on third reading.