A bold attempt by Delegate Fernando “Marty” Martinez (D-Leesburg) to repeal Virginia’s stringent organized retail theft law met an abrupt halt during the 2025 legislative session, as the House of Delegates opted to punt the issue to the Virginia State Crime Commission for further study. Martinez’s bill, HB 2105, sought to dismantle a 2023 law that classifies organized retail theft exceeding $5,000 as a Class 3 felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison—a measure he argued unfairly burdens minor offenders and lacks sufficient data to prove its effectiveness.

Introduced early in the session, which ran from January 8 to February 22, 2025, HB 2105 aimed to repeal the law signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin in July 2023. That statute, passed with bipartisan support, targets conspiracies to steal retail goods worth more than $5,000 over a 90-day period with intent to resell, a response to viral videos of brazen shoplifting sprees across the U.S. Martinez, a freshman delegate representing District 29, contended that the $5,000 threshold and harsh penalties sweep too broadly, potentially ensnaring small-scale thieves rather than the organized crime rings it was meant to deter.

“The felony threshold at $5,000 is arbitrary,” Martinez told a House subcommittee in late January. “We’ve only had six months to see if this works. I’d rather have data showing it’s hitting the right targets than lock people up for years over a few thousand dollars.” His proposal would have effectively lowered the stakes, reverting such cases to misdemeanor larceny unless evidence clearly tied them to larger criminal networks—a shift that could have capped penalties at one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The bill faced immediate pushback from Republicans and some moderate Democrats, who pointed to rising retail theft concerns voiced by store owners and the Virginia Retail Federation. “This law sends a message: Virginia won’t tolerate smash-and-grab chaos,” argued Delegate Jason Ballard (R-Pearisall), echoing Attorney General Jason Miyares’s 2023 stance that tougher penalties deter crime. By early February, with the Democratic majority (51-49) split on the issue, Martinez requested the bill be redirected to the Crime Commission, a move the subcommittee approved on February 3, effectively shelving it for 2025.

Martinez’s decision reflects caution rather than defeat. “I’m not giving up,” he said post-session. “We need to know if this felony classification is working or just clogging courts with low-level cases.” The Crime Commission, tasked with studying criminal justice trends, will review data on arrests, convictions, and recidivism under the 2023 law, with findings expected by late 2025—potentially shaping a renewed push in 2026.

Critics, including Delegate Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church), lamented the delay. “We’re missing a chance to fix an overreach now,” Simon said, noting that Virginia’s felony larceny threshold for standalone theft rose to $1,000 in 2022, yet organized theft carries a far harsher penalty at $5,000. Supporters of the original law, however, see Martinez’s repeal as soft on crime, especially as retailers report losses from coordinated thefts.

The bill’s fate underscores a broader tension in Virginia’s Democratic-led legislature: balancing progressive justice reforms with public safety demands. With all 100 House seats up for election in November 2025, Martinez’s stance could resonate in Loudoun County, where economic concerns often clash with calls for equity. For now, the $5,000 felony threshold remains intact, but Martinez’s effort has sparked a conversation that’s far from over.