Press Release

Sen. Skinner’s Bill to Combat Organized Retail Theft Passes Legislature with Strong Bipartisan Support

SB 1144, which is part of the Legislature’s Safer California Plan, would strengthen California law regulating online marketplaces by ensuring that platforms are not facilitating the sale of stolen goods and incentivizing organized retail theft.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner’s SB 1144, legislation that would combat organized retail theft, passed the state Legislature today with overwhelming bipartisan support. SB 1144, which is part of the Legislature’s Safer California Plan, would strengthen California law regulating online marketplaces by ensuring that platforms are not facilitating the sale of stolen goods and incentivizing organized retail theft.

“Online marketplaces are a valuable tool to buy and sell legitimate goods and services, but increasingly they’re also used by organized retail theft rings to unload stolen goods,” said Sen. Skinner, D-Berkeley. “With the overwhelming passage of SB 1144, the California Legislature has sent a clear message: Online marketplaces can no longer be used as giant fencing operations by organized retail theft rings. Those days are over.”

SB 1144 won overwhelming bipartisan approval today from the state Senate on a vote of 37-0, after it received strong bipartisan support last Thursday in the state Assembly, on a 73-0 vote. If signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill takes effect July 1, 2025. SB 1144 is supported by a large coalition of retailers, law enforcement, and cities and counties.

“Organized retail crime is a complex, multi-faceted problem and combatting it requires a comprehensive approach. SB 1144 builds upon the work of good actors among online marketplaces by enhancing accountability and transparency,” said Rachel Michelin, president/CEO of the California Retailers Association. “This legislation brings critical updates to the criteria for high-volume third-party sellers and improves the measures required for online marketplaces to prevent the trafficking of stolen goods. The California Retailers Association is proud to support SB 1144, and we thank Senator Skinner for her dedicated collaboration with us to ensure the legislation is fair and effective.”

“When we take away the market for stolen goods, we take away the incentive for retail theft. Thanks to the passage of SB 1144, online marketplaces in California will no longer be places where individuals can profit off theft. Our communities will be safer and stronger as a result,” said Cristine Soto DeBerry, executive director of Prosecutors Alliance Action, a sponsor of SB 1144.

SB 1144 builds on Sen. Skinner’s 2022 law, SB 301, landmark legislation that established the state’s first-ever regulations governing the sale of stolen goods on online marketplaces. According to many brick-and-mortar retailers, the rapid growth of online marketplaces has spurred organized retail theft. According to some estimates, $500 billion worth of stolen or counterfeit products change hands via online marketplaces each year.

Increasingly, organized retail theft operations are run by ringleaders who hire and pay “workers” to rob specific items from popular brick-and-mortars stores. The stolen goods are then collected from those workers, and the ringleaders make millions selling the ill-gotten goods online.

Earlier this year, a wealthy Southern California couple became the poster child for organized retail theft. The pair paid people to steal popular beauty products from specific retailers. According to the California Department of Justice, the couple then pocketed more than $8 million selling the stolen products online.

In 2022, Sen. Skinner’s SB 301 launched California’s effort to combat the sale of stolen goods online by providing higher standards of accountability and verification and by helping marketplaces identify and take action against organized retail theft rings.

SB 1144 strengthens SB 301 by also requiring online marketplaces to regulate high-volume sellers that advertise goods online but complete their sales transaction offline rather than through the marketplace. According to retailers, organized retail theft rings increasingly do not complete their sales using the online marketplace transaction function, thus allowing the seller to avoid the regulations created under SB 301.

SB 1144 applies to high-volume sellers that complete 200 or more transactions a year involving new or unused goods, valued at least $5,000, and builds on SB 301 by:

  • Clarifying that high-volume sellers must comply with the requirements in SB 301, regardless of whether the payment is processed on the online marketplace;
  • Requiring online marketplaces to suspend or terminate, and flag to law enforcement, high-volume sellers they reasonably believe are selling stolen goods;
  • Allowing local district attorneys, city attorneys, and county counsels to file civil charges against an online marketplace or an individual for selling stolen goods on the online marketplace;
  • Improving transparency and strengthening consumer confidence by having online marketplaces inform consumers that high-volume sellers have been verified and certified on their platforms.

 

Sen. Nancy Skinner represents the 9th Senate District and is chair of the Senate Housing Committee and the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.