The Legislature voted Wednesday to sustain Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) veto of a bill preventing repeat offenders from being charged with felony theft if the stolen property’s total valuation is lower than $500.
Currently, Maine law contains what is colloquially known as a “three strikes” provision for theft, allowing for the imposition of harsher penalties upon those who have two or more prior convictions for related crimes.
This bill sought to modify this by allowing for it’s application only to those whose subsequent offenses involve the theft of more than $500 worth of property.
“Limiting the ability of prosecutors to charge a third theft as a felony — and undermining the ability of the courts to impose terms of probation on a person who is committing repeated offenses — will take away an important tool to hold people accountable,” Gov. Mills wrote in her veto letter to the Legislature.
[RELATED: Bill Setting $500 Threshold to Charge Repeat Offenders with Felony Theft Advances in Legislature]
LD 2246 — An Act to Establish a Minimum Value Threshold for the Class C Crime of Theft by a Repeat Offender — was sponsored by Rep. David A. Sinclair (D-Bath) and was introduced in March as an after deadline piece of legislation.
This bill “stipulates that a person with 2 or more prior convictions may not be charged with a Class C crime if the person commits theft of property with a value of $500 or less.”
To accomplish this, the bill sought to amend the Maine Criminal Code to include a clause under the definition of theft that prevents someone who has two or more prior convictions for a variety of theft-related offenses for being charged with a Class C crime unless the stolen property’s valuation is over $500.
In Maine, a Class C crime is the lowest-level of felony offense, punishable by up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of LD 2246
In her veto letter, Mills explained the seriousness of theft in Maine, citing several statistics illustrating the extent of the problem, including the Department of Public Safety’s most recent annual report, which found an “uptick from 2021 to 2022 in the number of reported thefts, particularly those categorized as ‘shoplifting’ and ‘other larcenies.””
Mills also noted in her veto letter that Maine ranked “third worst in the nation for the prevalence and impact of retail theft” according to a December 2023 report by Forbes.
“This is a serious problem in Maine and LD 2246 will do nothing to help,” Mills wrote. “In fact, it’s arguable that it will make it worse.”
Although Mills expressed a desire for for “those who engage in petty crimes [to] not [be] punished excessively or in a manner that is not commensurate to the crime,” she went on to explain why she felt this bill would not effectively accomplish that.
“The Criminal Law Advisory Commission (CLAC) submitted a short letter (after the public hearing date) to point out that only felony offenses are eligible for probation,” Mills said. “Imposing probationary terms can be a critical tool for addressing and correcting a pattern of unlawful behavior.”
Mills also criticized the bill’s short timeline, noting that legislation’s public hearing was held just two days after it was first printed, “limiting the ability of many to have their voices heard.”
“I have heard from Maine-based retailers upset at this proposed change who fear their losses will only grow if this bill becomes law,” Mills wrote.
“If we are going to make changes to our criminal code,” Mills concluded, “there should be broad input from those impacted and a thorough review by CLAC before moving ahead.”
Click Here to Read Gov. Mills’ Full Veto Letter
When this legislation was up for consideration by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, lawmakers were divided along partisan lines. All Democrat members of the Committee voted in support of the bill’s passage, while all Republicans voted in opposition.
A similar division materialized in the House when lawmakers voted in favor of advancing LD 2246 with a roll call vote of 74-61.
In the Senate, this bill passed nearly along partisan lines in a roll call vote of 19-15. All Republican Senators voted against this bill, while most Democrats voted in support of it.
Joining the Republicans in opposition to LD 2246, however, were Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot) and Sen. David LaFountain (D-Kennebec). Sen. Cameron Reny (D-Lincoln) was excused and not present when the vote was taken.
On Wednesday, a number of Democrats voted alongside the House Republicans to uphold Mills’ veto of this bill. To successfully overturn the governor’s veto, 91 representatives would have needed to support reconsideration, but the motion fell considerably short of this threshold in a roll call vote of 59-77. There were 14 lawmakers absent at the time of the vote.
LD 2246 has now been placed in the legislative files and will not be considered any further this session.
Kittery, just so you know your representative voted to allow this smash and grab. I hope the chamber of commerce will assemble a full frontal assault against the dope during the next election cycle.
Republican matter now and then The NPR people are horrified.
Now just make sure you steal less than 500.00 and you’re good to go. Just a slap on the wrist. Nice signal to send to the snatch and grabbers. Our democrap gov’t looking out for you.