Alaska 34th Alaska State Legislature Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 16 R · 1 D cosponsors

HB 77 — An Act making the theft of mail or an article within mail theft in the second degree.

Last action — (H) REFERRED TO RULES

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 31, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 17 sponsors

    1 primary, 16 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (16 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

58 added · 44 removed

Plain-language change summary

The changes to Bill HB 77 primarily clarify the definition of "mail" and expand the types of mail delivery methods considered in the law. It now specifies that mail includes articles from both the United States Postal Service and private mail delivery companies. Additionally, it outlines what constitutes an "authorized depository" more clearly by including various types of mailboxes. These updates are important because they help ensure the law is applicable and relevant to all forms of mail delivery in today’s society, which can enhance protections against mail theft and fraud.

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34-LS0144\O CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO.
34-LS0144\N HOUSE BILL NO.
77(FIN) IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION BY THE HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE Referred:
77 IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION BY REPRESENTATIVES COULOMBE, Tomaszewski, Vance, Costello, Eischeid, Stapp, Johnson, Schwanke, Rauscher, Bynum, Underwood, Ruffridge, McCabe, Kopp, Saddler, Moore, Allard Introduced:
Rules6 Sponsor(s):
1/31/25 Referred:
REPRESENTATIVES COULOMBE, Tomaszewski, Vance, Costello, Eischeid, Stapp, Johnson, Schwanke, Rauscher, Bynum, Underwood, Ruffridge, McCabe, Kopp, Saddler, Moore, Allard A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED "An Act making the theft of mail or an article within mail theft in the second degree." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
Judiciary, Finance A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED "An Act making the theft of mail or an article within mail theft in the second degree." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
(6) the value of the property is $250 or more but less than $750 and, within the preceding five years, the person has been convicted and sentenced on two HB0077b -1- CSHB 77(FIN) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0144\O or more separate occasions in this or another jurisdiction of (A) an offense under AS 11.46.120, or an offense under another law or ordinance with similar elements;
(6) the value of the property is $250 or more but less than $750 and, within the preceding five years, the person has been convicted and sentenced on two HB0077a -1- HB 77 New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0144\N or more separate occasions in this or another jurisdiction of (A) an offense under AS 11.46.120, or an offense under another law or ordinance with similar elements;
or (8) the property is mail or an article within mail.
or (8) the property is mail or an article within mail (A) that is obtained by fraud or deception or taken (i) from a post office, postal station, mail receptacle, authorized depository, or mail carrier;
or (ii) after the mail or article has been delivered to or left for collection in, on, or adjacent to a mail receptacle or authorized depository;
or (B) that the person buys, receives, retains, conceals, or disposes of, with knowledge that the mail or article was stolen.
(5) "authorized depository" means a mailbox, letter box, post office box, or rural box used by postal customers for the deposit of outgoing mail or used by the United States Postal Service or a private mail delivery company for the delivery of incoming mail;
(5) "authorized depository" means a mailbox, letter box, post office box, or rural box used by postal customers for the deposit of outgoing mail or used by the United States Postal Service for the delivery of incoming mail;
(7) "mail" means a letter, a card, a parcel, or material that (A) is sent or delivered by means of the United States Postal Service or a private mail delivery company;
(7) "mail" means a letter, a card, a parcel, or material that (A) is sent or delivered by means of the United States Postal Service;
(B) has postage affixed to it by the postal customer, the United States Postal Service, or a private mail delivery company or has been accepted for delivery by the United States Postal Service or a private mail delivery company;
(B) has postage affixed to it by the postal customer or United States Postal Service or has been accepted for delivery by the United States Postal Service;
and (C) is placed in an authorized depository or mail receptacle or given to an employee of the United States Postal Service or a private mail delivery company for delivery;
and HB 77 -2- HB0077a New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0144\N (C) is placed in an authorized depository or mail receptacle or given to a United States Postal Service employee for delivery;
(8) "mail receptacle" means a location used by the United States Postal Service, a private mail delivery company, or a postal customer for the placement of outgoing mail or the receipt of incoming mail;
(8) "mail receptacle" means a location used by the United States Postal Service or a postal customer for the placement of outgoing mail or the receipt of incoming mail;
CSHB 77(FIN) -2- HB0077b New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 34-LS0144\O (9) "postage" means a United States Postal Service stamp, permit imprint, meter strip, or other authorized indication of prepayment for services provided or authorized by the United States Postal Service or a private mail delivery company for the collection and delivery of mail.
(9) "postage" means a United States Postal Service stamp, permit imprint, meter strip, or other authorized indication of prepayment for services provided or authorized by the United States Postal Service for the collection and delivery of mail.
AS 11.46.130 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
AS 11.46.130 is amended by adding new subsections to read:
(d) The provisions of (a)(8) of this section do not apply to an act carried out in accordance with the official duties of an employee charged with the operation of a juvenile treatment facility, juvenile detention facility, or correctional facility.
(d) It is a defense to a crime charged under (a)(8) of this section that (1) the defendant reasonably believed that the defendant was entitled to the property or had a right to acquire or dispose of the property;
(2) the property was property of a person living in the same household as the named recipient;
(3) the defendant had a valid power of attorney concerning the named recipient;
or (4) the defendant was given express permission by the named recipient to collect mail for the named recipient or for the address of the named recipient.
(e) The provisions of (a)(8) of this section do not apply to an act carried out in accordance with the official duties of an employee charged with the operation of a juvenile treatment facility, juvenile detention facility, or correctional facility.
HB0077b -3- CSHB 77(FIN) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
HB0077a -3- HB 77 New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
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Action History

  1. (H) REFERRED TO RULES

  2. (H) FN10: ZERO(AJS)

  3. (H) FN9: ZERO(DPS)

  4. (H) FN8: ZERO(LAW)

  5. (H) FN7: INDETERMINATE(ADM)

  6. (H) FN6: INDETERMINATE(ADM)

  7. (H) JOSEPHSON, FOSTER

  8. (H) DP: JIMMIE, GALVIN, TOMASZEWSKI, HANNAN, ALLARD, STAPP, MOORE, BYNUM, SCHRAGE,

  9. (H) FIN RPT CS(FIN) 11DP

  10. (H) Moved CSHB 77(FIN) Out of Committee

  11. (H) FINANCE at 01:30 PM ADAMS 519

  12. (H) Heard & Held

  13. (H) FINANCE at 01:30 PM ADAMS 519

  14. (H) COSPONSOR(S): ALLARD

  15. (H) -- Public Testimony -- -- MEETING CANCELED --

  16. (H) FINANCE at 01:30 PM ADAMS 519

  17. (H) -- Public Testimony -- -- MEETING CANCELED --

  18. (H) FINANCE at 01:30 PM ADAMS 519

  19. (H) Heard & Held

  20. (H) FINANCE at 01:30 PM ADAMS 519

  21. (H) COSPONSOR(S): MOORE

  22. (H) COSPONSOR(S): SADDLER

  23. (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --

  24. (H) FINANCE at 01:30 PM ADAMS 519

  25. (H) FN5: INDETERMINATE(ADM)

  26. (H) FN4: INDETERMINATE(ADM)

  27. (H) FN3: ZERO(LAW)

  28. (H) FN2: ZERO(DPS)

  29. (H) FN1: ZERO(AJS)

  30. (H) AM: GRAY

  31. (H) DP: VANCE, EISCHEID, UNDERWOOD, COSTELLO

  32. (H) JUD RPT 4DP 1AM

  33. (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  34. (H) Moved HB 77 Out of Committee

  35. (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  36. (H) COSPONSOR(S): MCCABE, KOPP

  37. (H) COSPONSOR(S): STAPP, JOHNSON, SCHWANKE, RAUSCHER, BYNUM, UNDERWOOD, RUFFRIDGE

  38. (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  39. (H) Heard & Held

  40. (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  41. (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  42. (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  43. (H) COSPONSOR(S): EISCHEID

  44. (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  45. (H) Heard & Held

  46. (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  47. (H) COSPONSOR(S): VANCE, COSTELLO

  48. (H) JUD, FIN

  49. (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 16 co-sponsors · 48 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (16)

Not signed on (48)

48 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 48 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 77?
HB 77 is sponsored by Jamie Allard (R), Elexie Moore (R), Dan Saddler (R), Chuck Kopp (R), Kevin McCabe (R), Justin Ruffridge (R), Jubilee Underwood (R), Jeremy Bynum (R), Rebecca Schwanke (R), DeLena Johnson (R), Will Stapp (R), Ted Eischeid (D), Mia Costello (R), Sarah Vance (R), Frank Tomaszewski (R), Julie Coulombe (R), and George Rauscher (R).
What is the current status of HB 77?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 31, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 77?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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