HB 210 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

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
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Criminal Law - Theft - Mail and Packages (Porch Piracy Act of 2025) Third - Criminal Law - Mail and Package Theft (Porch Piracy Act of 2025) · 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

1350
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 139
Mar 9, 2025
D Democratic100
97 Yea 3
97% Yea
R Republican39
38 Yea 1
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