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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2648
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE WILSON.
4955H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 650, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to or ganized retail
theft.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 650, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 650.2100, to read as follows:
650.2100. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Center", the organized r etail theft coordination center established under
3 this section;
4 (2) "Department", the department of public safety;
5 (3) "Organized ret ail theft", as such term is defined under subsection 12 of
6 section 570.030.
7 2. Ther e is her eby established in the department of public safety the "Organized
8 Retail Theft Coordination Center". The duties of the center shall include the following:
9 (1) Coordinating state law enforcem ent duties rel ating to organized ret ail theft,
10 including investigations of national and transnational criminal organizations that are
11 engaged in organized ret ail theft in Missouri;
12 (2) Establishing r elationships with state and local law enforce ment agencies and
13 organizations, including organized re tail crime associations and cargo theft associations,
14 and sharing information regard ing organized r etail theft thr eats with such agencies and
15 organizations;
16 (3) Assisting state and local law enfor cement agencies with state and local
17 investigations of organized ret ail theft gr oups;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 (4) Establishing relat ionships with ret ail, transportation, and other companies
19 determined by the dire ctor of the department of public safety to have significant
20 inter ests relat ing to organized reta il theft thr eats, sharing information with those
21 companies rega rding such thr eats, collaborating on investigations and loss prev ention
22 activities as appr opriate, and pr oviding a mechanism for the r eceipt of investigative
23 information on such thr eats;
24 (5) Establishing a secure system for sharing information regard ing organized
25 r etail theft thr eats by leveraging existing information systems at the Missouri state
26 highway patr ol;
27 (6) T racking tr ends with res pect to organized re tail theft and r eleasing annual
28 public re ports on such tr ends; and
29 (7) Supporting the pro vision of training and technical assistance.
30 3. The director of the department of public safety shall appoint a dir ector to
31 serve as the head of the center , who shall be an experienced law enforcem ent officer .
32 The dir ector of the center shall be assisted by a deputy dir ector , who shall be appointed
33 by the dir ector of the center , to serve for a term of two years. Subject to appr opriations,
34 the dir ector of the center may hir e additional staff as necessary to carry out the duties of
35 the center .
36 4. The center shall coordinate its activities, as appr opriate, with state agencies
37 and centers res ponsible for countering transnational organized crime thr eats. The
38 dir ector of the center , or his or her designee, may enter into agreements with federal,
39 state, and local agencies, and with private sector entities, to facilitate carrying out the
40 duties described under subsection 2 of this section.
41 5. Subject to appro val by the dir ector of the center , information that would
42 otherwise be subject to the limitation of disclosur e under chapter 610 may be shared if
43 such disclosur e is operationally necessary . The dire ctor of the center shall not delegate
44 his or her authority under this subsection.
45 6. (1) The director of the department of public safety , in consultation with the
46 attorney general, shall conduct an evaluation of existing state pr ograms that prov ide
47 grants, training, and technical support to federal, state, and local law enforcem ent
48 agencies to assist such entities in countering organized ret ail theft. After completion of
49 such evaluation, and no later than March 1, 2027, the dir ector of the department of
50 public safety and the attorney general shall submit a joint rep ort to the general
51 assembly that:
52 (a) Describes the r esult of such evaluation; and
53 (b) Includes rec ommendations on ways to expand grants, training, and technical
54 assistance aimed at combatting organized reta il theft in the state.
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55 (2) Within forty-five days of the submission of the rep ort requ ired under
56 subdivision (1) of this subsection, the dir ector of the department of public safety and the
57 attorney general shall jointly issue formal guidance to rel evant agencies and offices
58 within the department of public safety for modifying or expanding, as appr opriate, the
59 prioritization of training and technical assistance designed to counter organized reta il
60 theft.
61 7. On or before August 28, 2027, the director of the department of public safety
62 shall submit a report reg arding the establishment of the center to the chair of the house
63 judiciary committee and to the chair of the senate judiciary committee. The r eport shall
64 include a description of:
65 (1) The organizational structur e of the center;
66 (2) The agencies and partner organizations that ar e repr esented within the
67 center;
68 (3) Any challenges req uir ed to be addr essed while establishing the center;
69 (4) Any lessons learned fr om establishing the center , including successful
70 pr osecutions r esulting fr om the activities of the center;
71 (5) Recommendations for ways to streng then the enfor cement of laws involving
72 organized r etail theft;
73 (6) The intersections and commonalities between organized r etail crime
74 organizations and other organized theft gr oups, including supply chain diversion and
75 theft; and
76 (7) The impact of organized theft gr oups on the scar city of vital pr oducts,
77 including medicines, personal pr otective equipment, and infant formula.
78 8. On or befor e August 28, 2028, and each year ther eafter , the dir ector of the
79 department of public safety shall submit an annual r eport to the general assembly that
80 describes the activities of the center during the previ ous year .
81 9. The dir ector of the department of public safety may promulg ate all necessary
82 rules and reg ulations for the administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a
83 rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is crea ted under the authority
84 delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to
85 all of the pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and
86 chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly
87 pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul
88 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority
89 and any rule prop osed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
90 10. Under section 23.253 of the Missouri sunset act:
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91 (1) The prov isions of the new pr ogram authorized under this section shall sunset
92 six years after the effective date of this section unless reauthori zed by an act of the
93 general assembly; and
94 (2) This section shall terminate on September first of the calendar year
95 immediately following the calendar year in which the prog ram authorized under this
96 section is sunset.
✔
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