Laws and regulations · Organized retail crime
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 2853): status
| Jurisdiction | United States |
|---|---|
| Citation | H.R. 2853, 119th Congress |
| Status | Passed the House on May 12, 2026 (Roll Call 157); Senate action has not been verified from a primary source. |
| Official text | https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026157 |
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, H.R. 2853, passed the House on May 12, 2026 by 348 to 60 under a two-thirds suspension vote (House Clerk). It is not yet law. Until the Senate passes it and it is signed, it creates no new duty for a retailer or a store.
Where it stands
The House vote was on a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended, which requires two-thirds of those voting. Support crossed party lines: Republicans voted 203 to 1 and Democrats 144 to 59 (House Clerk). This page tracks status only. It does not summarize the bill’s provisions, because the text that becomes law may differ from the House version; the provisions will be added once an enacted text can be checked against its official source.
| Step | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| House passage | Passed, May 12, 2026 | House Clerk roll call |
| Senate passage | Not verified | Pending |
| Signature | Not verified | Pending |
Why retailers are watching it
Ninety-four percent of respondents in NRF’s 2026 survey agree federal legislation would help disrupt organized theft groups (NRF). The appeal is coordination: organized groups work across store, city, and state lines, and a single store’s report rarely shows the pattern. A federal framework is aimed at connecting those reports, not at changing what an associate does on the floor.
What a store should do now
Nothing in a pending bill changes the associate’s job. The store’s contribution to any organized retail crime case, federal or local, is recognition and a clean report. That is the work to invest in while the bill moves.
- Confirm every associate knows the observe, report, never confront, never chase rule.
- Use a consistent incident report so reports from different stores can be connected.
- Tell the reporting associate what happened to their report, so reporting continues.
- Check this page after Senate action before changing any policy.
For the associate-level program, see how to train associates on organized retail crime, what grocery LP directors require of a repeat offender policy, and the organized retail crime hub.