COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – The Organized Retail Crime bill has passed in South Carolina, and it’s headed to Governor Henry McMaster’s desk.

The Organized Retail Crime Bill was unanimously passed in the House and the Senate, and retailers said its passing will save their businesses and protect their customers.

“This is not just about protecting retailers, which we absolutely want to do and protect small businesses as well. This is about protecting people in their communities from having to pay even higher prices,” said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.

The bill defines organized retail crime as two or more people conspiring to steal property to sell or exchange it for profit. Anyone convicted under the law can be punished up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

The bill also stipulates anyone who injures someone while committing a retail-related crime could get a fine of $50,000 and 15 years in prison.

“We have to distinguish between the person that’s down on their luck that steals, you know, a can of Coca-Cola and a pack of crackers and is shoplifting,” said David Stumbo, solicitor, Eight Judicial Circuit. “That’s a crime, certainly, and it needs to be dealt; but under the laws, as we have been before this bill, it was much more difficult to really hit these guys that are in these gangs, driving the big theft.”

Stumbo said this bill will help lawyers bring criminals to justice.

“It is absolutely critical, that we have these tools in the trenches in the courtroom,” Stumbo said.

Wilson said organized retail crime is connected with violent gang activity, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. Wilson said this bill gets South Carolina one step closer to minimizing these big issues.

“This law that allows us to take a bunch of small theft crimes and aggregate them over a 90-day period to get up to felony level and to go after the big, you know, operations,” he said.

Wilson said over the last five to six years it’s estimated that South Carolina businesses loose around one hundred $121 billion because of organized retail theft.

Wilson said he is requesting that this bill is to be added to the State Grand Jury Act. Doing this would allow the Attorney General, Chief of SLED, Local Solicitors, and Local Law Enforcement to go after people who commit this crime.