Advocating For Stiffer ATM Crime Penalties – April 2023 Update

The 2022 legislative season ended without action on House Bill 9248, the “Safe Access to Cash Act”. The bill would have made it a federal crime to “by force and violence, or by intimidation, willfully take, or attempt to take, from any person using, loading cash into, or servicing, or attempting to use, load cash into, or service, or having just used, loaded cash into, or serviced, an ATM . . .”.  Penalties were to include a fine and/or up to 20 years in prison. ATMIA will be talking to legislators during the DC Fly-in about getting this measure re-introduced and passed this year.

At the state level, there were several states that introduced ATM crime bills last year. So far this year, there have been ATM crime bills introduced in two states – Missouri and Illinois.