March 5, 2025
What happened: On March 4, OBI Policy Director and Counsel Derek Sangston testified before the Senate Committee on Judiciary in support of SB 960, which would extend funding for the organized retail theft grant program administered by the Criminal Justice Commission. The bill would allocate $10 million for the 2025-27 biennium.
Organized retail theft: Organized retail theft involves the coordinated theft and resale of goods. Organized retail crime costs American retailers more than $69 billion per year, and theft in Oregon, Sangston testified, has contributed to an estimated $1.4 billion loss in economic activity, a loss of over 8,000 jobs and $40 million in tax revenue. Organized retail crime also places employees of retailers in danger.
Policy background: During the 2023 legislative session, OBI and other members of the Oregon Retail Crime Task Force successfully supported a package of bills to address organized retail crime. One of these bills, SB 900, created a $5 million grant program to help local communities and law enforcement respond to and combat organized retail theft. SB 960, now under consideration, extends and expands SB 900.
Why it matters: Organized retail theft, as Sangston testified, hurts businesses, endangers employees, reduces tax revenue and harms consumers as retailers lock away targeted items or simply close their doors. By failing to address organized retail theft, legislators would allow many of its harms to persist, including its contribution to Oregon’s reputation as a difficult state in which to do business. In its 2025 Free Enterprise Report, the Common Sense Institute ranked Oregon last among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., for public safety.
Learn more: Click the video to the right to watch Derek’s testimony and follow the link below it to read his written testimony. Combating organized retail crime is an important component of OBI’s Oregon Competitiveness Agenda, which you can read here.