This section makes organized retail theft an offense and sets penalty levels based on the value of the property involved.
Sec. 31.16. ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT. (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) acting in concert with one or more other persons, unlawfully appropriates retail merchandise, money, or other property from a merchant with the intent to deprive the merchant of the property; (2) on two or more occasions within a 180-day period, unlawfully appropriates retail merchandise, money, or other property from a merchant with the intent to deprive the merchant of the property; (3) knowingly obtains a benefit from conduct constituting an offense under Subdivision (1) or (2) that was committed by another person; or (4) knowingly acts in concert with one or more other persons to overwhelm the security response of a merchant or a peace officer for the purpose of committing an offense under Subdivision (1) or (2) or avoiding detection or apprehension for the offense. (b) In the prosecution of an offense under this section: (1) Sections 31.03(b) and (c) apply to the offense for purposes of determining whether property was unlawfully appropriated from a merchant; and (2) a person is presumed to have acted with the intent to deprive a merchant of retail merchandise if the person: (A) altered or removed a label, universal product code, price tag, or retail theft detector for retail merchandise; or (B) transferred retail merchandise from the merchandise's packaging into other packaging. (c) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that: (1) a person who acted in concert with the actor has not been charged, convicted, apprehended, or identified; (2) the offense occurred as a result of a deception or strategy on the part of a law enforcement agency, including the use of an undercover operative or peace officer; (3) the actor was provided by a law enforcement agency with a facility in which to commit the offense or an opportunity to engage in conduct constituting the offense; or (4) the actor was solicited to commit the offense by a peace officer, and the solicitation was of a type that would encourage a person predisposed to commit the offense to actually commit the offense but would not encourage a person not predisposed to commit the offense to actually commit the offense. (d) An offense under this section is: (1) a Class B misdemeanor if the total value of the property involved in the offense is less than $100; (2) a Class A misdemeanor if the total value of the property involved in the offense is $100 or more but less than $750; (3) a state jail felony if the total value of the property involved in the offense is $750 or more but less than $2,500; (4) a felony of the third degree if the total value of the property involved in the offense is $2,500 or more but less than $30,000; (5) a felony of the second degree if the total value of the property involved in the offense is $30,000 or more but less than $150,000; or (6) a felony of the first degree if the total value of the property involved in the offense is $150,000 or more. (e) For purposes of enhancement of penalties under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, a person is considered to have been convicted of an offense under this section if the person was adjudged guilty of the offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of deferred adjudication community supervision, regardless of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and the person was subsequently discharged from community supervision. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1274 (H.B. 3584), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 323 (H.B. 2482), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 323 (H.B. 2482), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1251 (H.B. 1396), Sec. 13, eff. September 1, 2015. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 815 (S.B. 1300), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2025.