In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis announced the signing of the bill, that would "Increase penalties for retail theft, porch piracy, and using social media to incite looting" while pointing out that "Many leftist jurisdictions are enacting policies that ignore retail theft or even encourage it." Those policies are dead on arrival in Florida.
You look at a place like California, they passed Proposition 47 that allows people that commit retail theft to be charged with misdemeanor, even if it had traditionally been a felony.
You look at New York, they eliminated cash bail for many offenses, including offenses for retail theft, so that now you can only get a felony theft charge if you steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise; anything less, you get a desk appearance ticket that has caused people to loot stores and do $999 worth of looting.
Retail theft has become a significant issue across the nation, intensified by social media-organized looting incidents and resulting in substantial losses for retailers amounting to $112 billion in 2022 alone, according to DeSantis.
HB 549 introduces several key provisions to address these issues, which you can read here: Retail theft committed by five or more individuals becomes a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
If social media is used to incite others to participate in retail theft involving five or more individuals, it escalates to a second-degree felony, carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
Retail theft involving a firearm or multiple prior convictions is classified as a first-degree felony, with a maximum sentence of 30 years.
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