KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Hawaii

HB1441 • 2026

RELATING TO THEFT.

RELATING TO THEFT.

Crime
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
MATSUMOTO, ALCOS, GARCIA, KILA, KONG, KUSCH, MATAYOSHI, MORIKAWA, OLDS, PIERICK, REYES ODA, SHIMIZU, TEMPLO, WARD
Last action
2025-12-08
Official status
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on how the task force will be funded or what actions they will take beyond submitting a report.

Law to Fight Organized Retail Theft

This bill creates a new crime called organized retail theft, sets penalties for it, and establishes a task force under the Attorney General's office.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates the offense of organized retail theft when people work together to steal merchandise from stores with intent to sell or use it.
  • Sets fines and jail time based on how much merchandise is taken in these crimes. Higher penalties apply if someone recruits, coordinates, organizes, supervises, directs, manages, or finances others involved in such activities.
  • Establishes an organized retail theft task force under the Attorney General's office to study the issue and submit a report with recommendations.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Retailers who experience theft from organized crime rings
  • People involved in organized retail theft crimes

Terms To Know

Organized Retail Theft
When groups of people work together to steal merchandise from stores with the intent to sell or use it.
Task Force
A group formed by government officials to study and solve a specific problem, in this case organized retail theft.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the task force will be funded.
  • It is unclear what actions or recommendations the task force will make beyond submitting a report.

Bill History

  1. 2025-12-08 D

    Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

  2. 2025-01-27 H

    Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 4

  3. 2025-01-23 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THEFT.
Organized Retail Theft; Penalties; Task Force
Creates the offense of organized retail theft. Provides penalties for organized retail theft. Creates an organized retail theft task force.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB1441

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1441

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to THEFT
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that the surge in theft
perpetrated by organized retail crime rings is threatening communities and
businesses in Hawaii.
�
According to the
National Retail Federation's 2022 National Retail Security Survey, businesses saw
a 26.5 per cent increase in organized retail crime incidents.
�
These crimes not only affect large department
stores but small businesses which comprise 99 per cent of the business
landscape in the islands.

����
To malicious actors, these crimes
are considered low-risk and yield a high-reward.
�
To address this pervasive issue, nine states
passed laws in 2022 increasing penalties for organized retail theft.
�
Hawaii, ranking fifth among states for
highest average total value of stolen goods per resident, needs to join this
nationwide response to combat organized retail theft.
�
The purpose of this Act is to create the
offense of organized retail theft and provide penalties accordingly.

����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 708, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�708-_
�
Organized
retail theft.
�
(1)
�

For purposes of this section:

����
"Retailer" means a
person or business that sells or facilitates the sale of merchandise to the
public for use or consumption rather than for resale.

����
(2)
�
A
person commits the offense of organized retail theft if the person intentionally:

����
(a)
�
Acts in concert
with one or more persons to commit theft of merchandise from one or more
retailers with intent to sell, exchange, or dispose of the merchandise for
value; or

����
(b)
�
Acts in concert
with one or more persons to receive, possess, conceal, store, or purchase
merchandise explicitly represented to the person as being merchandise stolen
from a retailer.

����
(3)
�
Violation of this section is:

����
(a)
�
A Class C
felony if the value or aggregate value of the merchandise involved in the act
is $200 or more but less than $750; or

����
(b)
�
A Class B
felony if the value or aggregate value of the merchandise involved in the act
is $750 or more.

����
(4)
�
Violation of this section described in
subsection (3) is increased to the next higher categories of offense if the
person recruits, coordinates, organizes, supervises, directs, manages, or
finances one or more persons to engage in an act described in subsection (2).

����
(5)
�
There is to be established an organized retail
theft task force under the department of the attorney general.

����
(a)
�
The task force
shall consist of no more than fifteen members and shall include:

���������
(i)
�
Four
members, appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be an individual who
represents state or local law enforcement;

��������
(ii)
�
President,
or their designee, of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii;

�������
(iii)
�
President,
or their designee, of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii;

��������
(iv)
�
Prosecuting
Attorney, or their designee, for the City and County of Honolulu;

���������
(v)
�
Prosecuting
Attorney, or their designee, for the County of Maui;

��������
(vi)
�
Prosecuting
Attorney, or their designee, for the County of Kauai; and

�������
(vii)
�
Prosecuting
Attorney, or their designee, for the County of Hawaii.

����
(b)
�
Appointments to
the task force shall be made by the appointing authority no later than sixty
days after the effective date of this bill.

����
(c)
�
The members of
the task force shall serve without compensation.
�
No member of the task force shall be made
subject to section 84-17, solely because of that member's participation on the
task force.
�
The task force shall be
exempt from chapter 92.

����
(d)
�
The task force
shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any
proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the
convening of the regular session of 2026.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act does not affect rights and duties
that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun
before its effective date.

����
SECTION 4.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Organized
Retail Theft; Penalties; Task Force

Description:

Creates
the offense of organized retail theft.
�
Provides
penalties for organized retail theft.
�

Creates an organized retail theft task force.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.