WASHINGTON — Several trade groups last week hailed the latest legislation introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate to combat organized retail crime. Thursday evening, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Ind., chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, introduced a bill aimed at organized “e-fencing” - reselling stolen goods over the Internet - titled the E-Fencing Enforcement Act of 2008 (H.R. 6713). The next day Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., unveiled the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008, which would clarify existing law to give law enforcement the tools to prosecute ORC, require online and offline marketplaces to investigate suspicious sales, and place basic disclosure requirements on online marketplaces. The Scott bill was endorsed Friday by the Food Marketing Institute, the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, while The Coalition Against Organized Retail Crime commended Durbin for introducing his bill. In mid-July, Reps. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, introduced The Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008 (H.R. 6491). “The more the merrier,” said Ty Kelley, director of government relations for FMI, Arlington, Va., and co-chair of the Coalition Against Organized Retail Crime. “There’s no single solution. The more [lawmakers] involved, the better the chance we will get something accomplished.”
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