Senate Bill 409 Summary

• Amends breaking/entering offenses for railroad cars, motor vehicles, and watercraft to create tiered felony classifications based on value of goods stolen (Class H-C felonies), with value aggregated over 90-day periods across multiple counties

• Allows aggregation of multiple financial crime offenses (embezzlement, false pretenses, exploitation of older adults) when committed against multiple victims or in multiple counties, with sentencing based on aggregated value

• Permits businesses to prove regular record-keeping practices through unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury instead of requiring in-person testimony

• Creates a pilot program authorizing automatic license plate readers on Department of Transportation rights-of-way, with data restricted to law enforcement purposes and violation punishable as Class 1 misdemeanor

• Establishes an independent Office of the State Fire Marshal within the Department of Insurance with a State Fire Marshal appointed by the Commissioner subject to General Assembly confirmation, transferring various firefighter programs and building code oversight from the Commissioner to this new office