AB 52

Under current law, it is a Class C felony to intentionally take a vehicle without

the consent of the owner if the person possesses a weapon and uses or threatens to

use force or the weapon. It is a Class E felony to intentionally take a vehicle without

the consent of the owner if the person uses or threatens to use force. These crimes

are commonly known as “carjacking.” The statutes do not currently use this term,

and these crimes are organized under the statutory section titled “Operating vehicle

without owner's consent.” This bill reorganizes the carjacking crimes under their

own statutory section titled “Carjacking” and changes the statutory references to the

carjacking statutes so as to maintain current law.

This bill also increases the penalty for carjacking from a Class C felony to a

Class B felony if the person possesses a weapon and uses or threatens to use force

or the weapon. The penalty for a Class C felony is a fine that is not more than

$100,000 or imprisonment for not more than 40 years, or both. The penalty for a

Class B felony is imprisonment for not more than 60 years.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report.