ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 3870

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 7, 2020

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 3870.

     This bill would upgrade the penalty for theft of a package delivered to residential property by a cargo carrier where the amount involved is less than $75,000 or is undetermined.  Under the bill, this theft would be a crime of the third degree.

     Under current law, theft based on the amount involved is a crime of the third degree if the amount exceeds $500 but is less than $75,000. Theft is a crime of the fourth degree if the amount involved is at least $200 but does not exceed $500. It is a disorderly persons offense if the amount involved is less than $200.

     A crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both; a crime of the fourth degree, by a term of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both; and a disorderly persons offense, by a term of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. 

     This bill is designated as the “Defense Against Porch Pirates Act.”