Package thieves and porch pirates beware: while already considered a felony for abducting US mail packages, FEDex and UPS are now fair game.
House Bill 37, one of the many bills made law by Governor Abbott in the recently concluded 86th Legislative Session, will criminalize mail theft. Stealing any sealed item deemed “mail” (a letter, bag, package, or any article delivered by a mail carrier) will be a felony starting September 1st. Penalties will range from a class-A misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, so punishments will be dealt accordingly. Thieves can land themselves in prison for six months or ten years, and fines will fluctuate between $4,000 to $10,000. Everything will depend on the amount of addresses stolen from. And don’t even think about taking from the elderly or disabled—punishments and penalties will be increased even further.
Unfortunately, this porch-picking practice is far too common. Amazon is reportedly a proponent of this new Texas law and is encouraging other states to follow suit.
Here’s to hoping that thieves will now think twice before nabbing their neighbor’s Amazon Prime order!