Relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties

Description

Senate File 266 creates new criminal offenses and establishes new penalties for theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card. The penalties are as follows:

• Any person who, with intent to defraud, acquires or retains possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information without the consent of the cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller commits theft and is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
• Any person who, with intent to defraud, alters or tampers with a gift card commits forgery and is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
• Any person who, with intent to defraud, devises a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information from a card holder, card issuer, or gift card seller by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises engages in a fraudulent practice and is guilty as follows:
• A Class C felony if the amount of money or value of property or services involved exceeds $5,000.
• A Class D felony if the amount of money or value of property or services involved exceeds $1,000 but does not exceed $5,000.
• An aggravated misdemeanor if the amount of money or value of property or services involved exceeds $500 but does not exceed $1,000.
• A serious misdemeanor if the amount of money or value of property or services involved is $500 or less.
• Any person who, with intent to defraud, uses, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value, a gift card or gift card redemption information that has been obtained in violation of this section commits theft and is guilty of the following:
• A Class C felony if the value of the property stolen exceeds $5,000.
• A Class D felony if the value of the property stolen exceeds $1,000 but does not exceed $5,000.
• An aggravated misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen exceeds $500 but does not exceed $1,000.
• A serious misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen is $500 or less. The Bill provides that the value of the retail merchandise received by a person in violation of the Bill within any six-month period may be aggregated and the defendant will be charged accordingly.

Background

A serious misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year of confinement and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by up to two years in confinement and a fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. A Class D felony is punishable by up to five years of confinement and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245. A Class C felony is punishable by confinement for up to 10 years and a fine of at least $1,370 but no more than $13,660.

Assumptions

• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A delay of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.

Correctional Impact

Senate File 266 creates a new criminal offense, and the correctional impact cannot be estimated due to a lack of existing conviction data. Figure 1 shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS in months under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for a serious misdemeanor, an aggravated misdemeanor, a Class D felony, and a Class C felony. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 13, 2025, for information related to the correctional system.

Figure 1 — Sentencing Estimates and Length of Stay (LOS) in Months

Minority Impact

Senate File 266 creates a new criminal offense. As a result, the Department of Management (DOM) Criminal Justice Planning cannot use existing data to estimate the minority impact of the Bill. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statements, dated January 13, 2025, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

Senate File 266 may increase the number of convictions under Iowa Code chapter 714, but the extent of the increase in costs to the Department of Corrections (DOC) is unknown. Figure 2 shows the average State cost per offense for a serious misdemeanor, an aggravated misdemeanor, a Class D felony, and a Class C felony. The estimated impact to the General Fund includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the DOC. The cost would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.

Figure 2 — Average State Cost Per OffenseConviction Offense Class

Percent

Ordered to

State Prison

FY 2024 Avg

LOS in

Prison (All Releases)

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Prison

Percent

Ordered to

Probation

FY24 Field

Avg LOS on

Probation

Avg Cost

Per Day on

Probation

Marginal

Cost Per

Day CBC

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Jail

FY24 Field

Avg LOS on

Parole

Marginal

Cost Per

Day Parole

C Felony (Non-Persons) 84.5% 16.9 $24.51 59.3% 48.0 $7.68 $18.37 $50.00 21.5 $7.68 D Felony (Non-Persons) 83.9% 13.1 $24.51 69.5% 39.0 $7.68 $18.37 $50.00 16.5 $7.68

Aggravated Misdemeanor

(Non-Persons) 30.5% 8.7 $24.51 46.4% 26.1 $7.68 $18.37 $50.00 19.7 $7.68 Serious Misdemeanor 2.4% N/A $24.51 53.4% 18.8 $7.68 $18.37 $50.00 N/A $7.68Offense Class Average Cost Serious Misdemeanor $420 to $5,000 Aggravated Misdemeanor $6,800 to $11,800 Class D Felony $11,900 to $19,100 Class C Felony $14,900 to $25,600

Sources

• Department of Corrections
• Department of Management (DOM) Criminal Justice Planning