Criminal Law - Mail and Package Theft (Porch Piracy Act of 2025)
HB 210, the "Porch Piracy Act of 2025," prohibits the theft of mail or packages delivered by the U.S. Postal Service or commercial carriers. It defines "mail or package" as tangible items left for delivery and makes knowingly taking such items without the recipient's permission a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison. The bill also allows courts to offer diversion programs for third or subsequent violations instead of jail time. This law directly affects individuals who steal mail or packages, aiming to criminalize what is commonly called "porch piracy." The bill takes effect October 1, 2025.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2024
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Oct 2, 2024
Last action Mar 17, 2025
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5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to add multiple sponsors, include a committee report indicating favorable action with amendments, and expand the legislative text to include additional provisions such as facial recognition technology for mail theft investigations and concurrent jurisdiction between District and Circuit courts. The bill's title was slightly modified to more accurately reflect its content.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include facial recognition technology authorization for mail theft investigations and established concurrent jurisdiction between District Court and Circuit Court for mail theft violations.
ENFORCEMENT
Added authorization to use facial recognition technology to investigate mail theft cases
Established concurrent jurisdiction in both District Court and Circuit Court for mail theft violations
SCOPE
Changed bill title from 'Mail and Packages' to 'Mail and Package Theft' for accuracy
TECHNICAL
Added multiple bill sponsors including Delegates Conaway, Toles, Solomon, Kaufman, Shetty, J. Long, Pasteur, Schmidt, Simmons, Phillips, Stinnett, Arikan, Taylor, Grammer, Sample-Hughes, and Williams
Added committee report showing favorable action with amendments and House adoption on March 6, 2025
Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 9, 2025
How they voted
135–0
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 139
Mar 9, 2025
D
Democratic100
97% Yea
R
Republican39
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
9
Key actions
4
Committee
4
Mar 17, 2025
Committee
Referred Judicial Proceedings
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Mar 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
lower
Mar 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Judiciary
lower
Mar 9, 2025
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (135-0-4)
house of delegates
Jan 8, 2025
Committee
First Reading Judiciary
lower
Oct 2, 2024
Introduced
Pre-filed
lower
16 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Aaron Kaufman
DDemocratic
P
Cheryl Pasteur
DDemocratic
P
Emily Shetty
DDemocratic
P
Frank Conaway
DDemocratic
P
Gary Simmons
DDemocratic
P
Jared Solomon
DDemocratic
P
Jeff Long
DDemocratic
P
Karen Toles
DDemocratic
P
Kym Taylor
DDemocratic
P
Lauren Arikan
RRepublican
P
Nicole Williams
DDemocratic
P
Robin Grammer
RRepublican
P
Scott Phillips
DDemocratic
P
Sean Stinnett
DDemocratic
P
Sheree Sample-Hughes
DDemocratic
P
Stuart Schmidt
RRepublican
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